My Father Figure, Surly Squirrel
by MaxTV1234
Summary: Todd Lloyd, a 13 year old child lost his father from cancer when he was 6. When he takes a vacation at Oakton with his mother, he is transformed into a fox squirrel by a magic fortune cookie. He meets Surly and the gang, along with a new friend who annoys Todd. As they go through the heist, Todd and Surly starts to understand one another. Will the two overcome their pasts together?
1. Prologue - The Promise

_**Note: This story was made by both me and my co-creator, Dusk19. He was the one who came up with the plot while I make the story for him. Anyway, The Nut Job and it's characters are owned by Toonbox Entertainment, Global Box Entertainment, and Redrover International.**_

Today was a dark day. Inside of the Oakton's Hospital, a boy and his mother were in the hospital wing, waiting next to a door. This boy was name Todd Lloyd, a six year old black-haired light skinned kid, and his mother was Alexa Lloyd, a brown haired woman who was light-skinned as well. Todd seemed pretty sadden and Alexa was extremely worried as they waited to hear some news.

Apparently, earlier ago, Todd and his mother went over to the store to buy some groceries, but the moment they came back home, they found Todd's father, Ben Lloyd, lying on the ground, barely breathing. Todd was horrified to see his own father down like that as he rushed towards him and tried to wake him up while his mother immediately called 9-1-1 for help. Soon after, the ambulance came over and took Ben to the hospital, with Todd and his mother headed over there as well.

Now, Todd and his mother wait patiently but worriedly to hear some news if Todd's father was gonna make it. Five minutes later, a nurse walked out of the room, frowning sadly. Todd and his mother saw her walk out as Alexa got up from her chair and walked towards the nurse, with Todd holding her hand.

"Excuse me, nurse?" Alexa called, gaining the nurse's attention. "Is...my husband gonna be okay?"

The nurse looked down sadly as she shook her head and said "I'm sorry but...we can't cure his cancer. I'm sorry, we tried everything but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do." Alexa covered her mouth in shock and let out tears while Todd became shocked to hear what is happening to his father.

"M-mommy...is Daddy gonna?..." Todd couldn't finish his sentence as he began letting out tears out. Alexa bent down and hugged her son, smiling softly.

"Don't worry sweetie, we can go see him." Alexa stated, cheering Todd a little. Alexa then turned to the nurse with a pleading look as she said

"Well...can we see him please?"

The nurse looked at her before looking down at her son, seeing how desperately he wanted to see his father again. The nurse let out a sigh as she smiled softly at them.

"Yes ma'am." The nurse nodded as she opened the door, letting them in before closing the door. There stood Ben Lloyd, a tanned skinned man in his late 30s as he was laying on the bed, breathing heavily as the monitor showed his heart rate slowly decreasing. He then noticed both his wife and son entering as smiled weakly at them, happy to see them...At least, one last time.

"Daddy!" Todd rushed towards his father as he smiled happily to see him again.

"Hey kiddo, how it's going?" Ben asked, smiling weakly at him.

"I-I'm doing alright, what about you?" Todd asked, wanted to know if the nurse was wrong and his father was doing alright.

"Of course I'm okay." Ben nodded, smiling at his son. "I'm just a little sick and I'll be better, that's all."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, I mean it." Ben said before coughing badly, which Alexa noticed. She frowned a bit before smirking to herself. Her husband was always known to be stubborn, but she loved him for his kind and caring heart to everyone on Oakton Street, even her and her son.

"Ben, you know, no matter what happens, you always know who to make us happy." Alexa said, chuckling a bit, even Ben smiled before coughing.

"Of course Alexa. What? You expect your own husband to just die? I'm fine, honest." Ben said before coughing badly.

"Ben…" Alexa raised her voice, now both sternly and worried. "You don't have to lie to us, the nurse already told us about your...condition..."

Ben became a little surprised as he smiled sadly. "Oh...I see."

Todd turned to his mother with a both an angry and sadden look. "Mommy! That can't be true! D-daddy is fine! I know he'll-"

"Todd...please stop." Ben pleaded, which Todd turned back with a confused expression.

"Huh?" Todd asked.

"I-I'm sorry kiddo, it's the truth." Ben said, letting out a cough.

"N-no! Daddy, it can't be true! I know you're alright!" Todd exclaimed, letting out tears.

"Todd…" Alexa muttered in sadness.

"Hey, don't be sad kiddo." Ben said, ruffling Todd's hair a little bit before coughing. "Now listen Todd, you must follow your heart. Don't give up." Todd then held his father's hand, looking at him with tears coming out. "If you keep listening to what your heart tells you, I'm sure you'll see the light in the end."

"But d-daddy! I don't want you to leave me! I want you to be with me and mommy forever!" Todd pleaded while crying. Ben smiled weakly and said

"I'm sorry kiddo...but I'm afraid life has different ways we have to go through. And please don't forget…" He stopped mid sentence as he let out another cough.

"...First you have to grow big and strong and make a man of yourself." Ben finished.

"...O-okay…" Todd nodded, looking at his father. "I-I promise that I'll be a man, like you daddy."

"I...know you will…" Ben said as the heart monitor began decreasing, which Alexa noticed.

"Ben?" Alexa asked, worriedly.

"Please Todd...become a great man...just like your old man…" Ben said as he opened his arms up for Todd, and hugged him one last time, which Todd embraced. Todd began crying and sniffing sadly as Ben smiled one last time before closing his eyes and muttering "Show them...what a great...man...you can...be…" Before you know it, he went silent, which Todd noticed.

"Daddy?" Todd called to him, but no response. "Daddy! Daddy!" Todd kept shaking his father, but he didn't give a response as his face showed that he smiled as his heart monitor showed a 'zero' response coming from him.

"Ben! BEN!" Alexa shouted in worried. Todd began letting out all his tears as he watched his father's lifeless body as the nurses came in and went in to see what was happening. Todd just stood there with widened eyes and stood there emotionless and pale. Alexa came over and held her son as Todd let out tears because he knew...that his father was gone.

* * *

 _ **Few Weeks Later**_  
Todd and his mother were gathered in a cemetery, with everyone they're so close to. All their friends and family members as they were gathered in Ben's funeral service. Everyone closed their eyes and started to mourn for Ben. But nobody was more heartbroken than Todd as he closed his eyes and frown sadly while holding onto his mother's hand while Alexa held an umbrella as it was raining. Everyone stood there and began crying as they looked at the memorial of Ben Lloyd.

"Why? He was such a good man…" A woman in her late 30s muttered.

"I know. He always care for us and was always gave us a helping hand around Oakton Street. It's just not fair…" A man in her early 20s agreed.

"Well...at least he's in a good place. May his soul rest in place…" A old man in his mid 60s added, praising for Ben.

Todd sat down on a chair as his mother was called up to make a speech. Everyone looked at her with sad looks as she cleared her throat and said "Thank you all for coming. I just...I don't know how to say this, but Ben was a sweet and lovable man. He always been there for me and my son, he's been there for everyone. He always inspire us to be strong, and that's what he wants us to be right now, he wants us to keep moving forward and stay strong. Because...that what he'll always do…" Alex covered her face as she began crying. The undertaker for Ben's funeral walked towards her and hugged her, cheering her up a little.

"It's alright, we're all going to miss him…" The undertaker stated. Soon after, Ben's coffin began to lowered down into its grave as both Alexa and Todd watched with tears in their eyes. Todd held a flower in his hands as he threw it down onto Ben's coffin. Alexa softly smiled at his son before frowning as she knew how much both her son and husband been so close as she closed her eyes and began letting out tears. As soon as the coffin went down to the lower reaches of its grave, the undertaker began burying the hole as Todd closed his eyes, remembering the times he had with his father before his death. He then remember the last words his father muttered to him.

 _Become a great man like your old man._

Todd smiled softly as he gazed at his memorial. "I promise daddy...I'll be a great man like you, I promise…" Todd muttered as he closed his eyes and thought he heard his father's voice.

 _Yeah, I know you will…I'll be watching over you...Todd…_

Todd reopened his eyes as he gaze at the memorial, smiling softly as he promised to be a man like his father.

"Goodbye...daddy."

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	2. Chapter 1 - Seven Years Later

_**Note: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfic. The Nut Job and The Nut Job 2 and its characters, with the exception of my OC, belongs to Universal Pictures, Redrover, and Global Entertainment. Please support the official release of The Nut Job 3 and it series.**_

Oakton City was still as beautiful as ever as many people walked by, cars going on, and everything went on okay. The year was 2014 as the city was busier than usual.

But out on the streets of Oakton, a car was seen driven, and inside of that car, is a boy wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, brown pants, yellow neon headphones on his head, red-and-white shoes, has black hair and brown eyes. He was busy playing Uncharted 2 on his PS Vita. His name was Todd Lloyd, now a thirteen year old boy in Middle School. Apparently, after his father's death, he began to change and started to turn into a trouble kid, from being sent to detention to suspension. Just today, he had a fight with a kid for teasing and taking away his PSP, which caused Todd to punch him in the mouth.

After the fight, Todd was sent home and in suspension. His mother came over to the school, talked with the principal, and took her son back home.

Alexa was now in her early 30s, having brown hair in a ponytail that reached to her neck, wearing a cyan colored t-shirt, blue jeans, and wore black slip-on shoes. She has been taking care of Todd for a long time ever since her husband, Ben, past away. She was heartbroken but kept her husband's words to keep moving on. However, she has some...trouble with her son, Todd, as he kept getting into trouble, which she understood why.

"Todd?" She called for him, but gave no response. "Todd." She called again, but no luck. Todd was so focus on his game that he didn't hear her, causing her to sigh. As soon as they stopped at a red stop light, she turned to her son with a stern look. "Todd!"

"What mom?" Todd exclaimed, still looking at his PS Vita. "I told you, he deserved it!"

"But that doesn't mean it was okay to HIT that boy!" Alexa said angrily. "Violence isn't the answer to every problem." Todd just ignored her and focused on his game, which Alexa noticed. "Are you listening to me?"

"If I let him push me around, it'll only get worse." Todd replied, pausing his game and looking away from his mom in a huff.

Alexa sighed and said "You're right. You should stand up for yourself…" Soon, the light turned green as she started driving. "But you need to find a way to do that without getting suspended!"

"But he took my PS Vita away from me! You gave me this for my birthday seven years ago!" Todd exclaimed both angrily and sadly. "You should be mad at him too!"

"And what he did was wrong, but...but you...you don't just go punching every person who makes you mad." Alexa said, both sternly and sad before making a smirk at him. "Especially not someone who's three grades above you." She then chuckled a bit. "That kid practically SHAVES."

"Wha-?!" Todd was speechless at what his mother said as he glared at her. "I could've taken him!"

"Don't get cocky, kid." Alexa said, shaking her head, smiling at him. "I'm thinking...from the look of things, he took YOU." Todd then turned off his game and put it back into his backpack. She then stopped at another red light as she turned to her son with a sad look. "This can't keep happening, Todd. I know I haven't been at home as much lately, but that's all the more reason I need you to step up and take some responsibility."

"I know." Todd replied, gazing at the window with a sad look.

"Then you know tomorrow you're apologizing to that boy." Alexa said, raising a brow at her son. "And I mean a real apology. No...smart aleck stuff."

"Okay, fine, but this is SO unfair!" Todd complained.

"News flash kiddo: life's not always fair." Alexa said, chuckling a bit before saying "You know, sometimes you remind me of him…" Todd then looked away sadly, knowing what his mother meant. His father died from cancer, which made Todd heartbroken. Since then, he wasn't the same. Alexa noticed Todd's sad look as she sighed and felt bad for bringing that up.

"Todd, I understand why you're always like this, I miss him too." Alexa said as Todd looked at her. "But he'll always be inside of here." She pointed at his chest, which made Todd shook his head.

"I don't want him in my heart, I want him with us." Todd said, darkening his face. Soon, Alexa pulled into the driveway, finally arriving to their home. Once so, she turned to her boy with a soft smile.

"Hey, don't worry. Your father didn't want you to mourn about his death, he wants you to keep going. Be a wonderful man like he was." Alexa assured, causing Todd to smile softly. "And please promise me you'll apologize to the boy tomorrow?" His mother begged.

Todd looked at her for awhile before sighing. "Okay mom, I promise."

"Good, now come on. I'm making your favorite tonight." Alexa said, smirking at him. Todd got out of the car and took out his PS Vita from his bag, continuing play his Uncharted 2 game. Alexa watched her child entered the house with a sad sigh. She wished that she can find something that might make her son happy. Unless...

* * *

 _ **A Week Later**_  
Soon, a week has past since the fight, and Todd apologized to the kid. Though, Todd was still in trouble by his mother, much to his chagrin. Soon after, Fall Break began to begin, meaning that no school for an entire week.

Soon later, Todd is seen in his room, playing Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves on his Playstation 2 while laying on his bed, still having his headphones on his ears. Todd has a liking towards Thieving characters like Sly Cooper, Nathan Drake from the Uncharted Series, and many more. Not just games, but other thieving characters from TV Shows, Movies, Comics, and other stuff. He admires every single thieving characters, and thinks of them as the only friends.

"Todd!" Todd's door room opened, revealing Alexa with a smile on her face. Todd was focused on the game, so he gave no response. Alexa shook her head with a sigh as she walked over, took the headphones off, gaining his attention.

"Hey!" Todd exclaimed in annoyance.

"Todd, can I at least have your attention?" Alexa asked, furrowing her brows in anger. Todd sighed and said "Alright, I'm all ears, what is it?"

Alexa smiled happily and replied "Well you see, I was busy packing up for a very special Fall Break vacation were planning to go."

"What?" Todd asked in confusion.

"We're going to Oakton City, Todd." Alexa said happily. "I thought that maybe some fresh air might help us clear our heads for a while, and we can spend so much time there. We can go sightseeing, grab some souvenirs, go see and enjoy some attractions and other fun things. It'll be amazing, what do you say Todd?" Alexa asked.

Todd sighed and shook his head. "Mom, I rather not. Besides, I rather stay home and play my games all week." Todd replied as he put his headphones back on and continuing play his Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time game.

"Come on, Todd!" Alexa took off his headphones, annoying Todd. "Trust me, this might cheer you up and make you have a fun time. Trust me, please…" Alexa pleaded. Todd looked at her for a while before sighing.

"Alright fine…" Todd replied before saying "But must it be Oakton City? Why can't we go somewhere fun like California, or maybe...I don't know...an amusement park?"

Alexa sighed sadly as she said "Sorry Todd, but I don't have enough to go anywhere except Oakton, besides, we barely go there anymore since...ever."

"I-I see…" Todd said, sighing.

"But anyway..." Alexa chuckled. "We'll have fun. Trust me." Alexa assured. "Now come on, we're gonna leave in about an hour, so pack up everything you might need." Alexa kissed her son on the cheek and left the room to go pack up. When she left, Todd noticed the game case for his Sly Cooper game as he picked it up and sighed sadly.

"If this vacation doesn't make me feel better for last week, then I'm out of here…" Todd said, laying on his bed and looking at the ceiling. "If only there was someone out there who was like you, Sly…" Todd said, looking at the cover box. "You know, we can play together, have awesome adventures, and...maybe someone I can look up to..."

"Oh well, I guess I better go pack up..." With a sigh, Todd got up from his bed and went to go pack his things. He had a feeling this vacation would just be another boring thing in his life.

* * *

 _ **Later**_  
A car is seen driving through the city, and parking into the driveway of the Oakton City's Hotel. As soon as the car parked to a good spot, Todd and his mother came out of the car and saw how big it was.

"Wow, it sure is a big hotel, huh Todd?" Alexa asked, admiring the size of the hotel.

"Yeah, sure mom…" Todd replied in a bored and tired way, which Alexa noticed.

Soon, they took their bags out of the car and headed inside of the hotel, meeting up with the desk clerk.

"Ahh, good afternoon. How can I help you?" He asked them.

"Hi, I was wondering if there's a room for me and my son?" Alexa asked politely. The desk clerk nodded and began typing his computer, checking to see what rooms are available for them.

"Hmm, it seems there's one on the third floor, 3D." The desk clerk replied with a smile, handing her their room key.

"Okay, thank you. Come on Todd…" Alexa said, but Todd sighed and muttered "Sure" as they headed towards their hotel room. Once they finally arrived to their room, they entered and found out that it was consist of two separate beds with white sheets, all soft and comfy. Todd walked over and chose the bed on the left while his mother chose the bed on the right.

"These beds are nice and soft, I could sleep like a baby here." Alexa said, feeling both happy and relaxed as she noticed the window. She walked towards it and look through the window, seeing the city buildings. She opened the window and smelled the fresh air, sighing "You know, maybe we should go and enjoy a tour around Oakton City, Todd….Todd?" Alexa turned around to see her son sitting on the bed, thinking about something, which Alexa knew what it was.

"Todd, come on! You should admire the scenery." Alexa said sternly.

"Yeah…" Todd replied, looking away from her. Alexa sighed sadly as she sat next to him and hugged him, trying to cheer him up.

"Todd, I understand why you're sad, but you need to smile and enjoy your time here in Oakton. I mean, we always come here to enjoy our time back at the park we like to visit, remember?" Alexa said, remembering the times they had before Todd's father past away.

"Yeah, I did…" Todd said, darkening his face. Alexa sighed sadly and tried to think of something that might cheer him up.

She then thought for a while until something caught her eye from the window. She walked towards the window and saw a restaurant across the other side of the street was a chinese restaurant called "Yummi Chinese Kitchen". She then realized that they left this morning and didn't have a decent meal, which gave her an idea.

"Hey Todd, feeling hungry?" Alexa asked, turning to his son. Todd soon turned to his mother, pausing his game.

"Well...I haven't eaten anything for a while, so sure, I guess." Todd replied with a nod and soft smile. Alexa chuckled a bit as she hear her boy's stomach rumble as she said "Okay good, because I was thinking that maybe some Chinese food might cheer you up. It was always your favorite." Todd got off his bed, put on his red-and-white shoes and followed after his mother with a soft smile on his face, still having his headphones on.

"Yeah, I guess. So you know a good chinese place we could eat?" Todd asked curiously.

"You'll see." Alexa replied with a soft smile as she closed the door and headed towards the restaurant she saw. She thought that maybe she and her son could spend some more time and try to bond. How wrong she would be...

 _ **To Be Continued**_


	3. Chapter 2 - A Special Surprise

**_Note: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfic. The Nut Job and the Nut Job 2 belongs to Redrover, Global Entertainment Entertainment and Universal Pictures, and all characters belong to their respective creators, but the OC's in this story belong to me and Dusk19. Please support the official release of The Nut Job 3 and its series._**

Todd and Alexa entered the Chinese restaurant, and became awe just how big it was and it was filled with a lot of customers.

"Wow, this place must be a famous place, eh Todd?" Alexa asked happily.

"It sure is..." Todd said, raising a brow at this place. Soon, they looked around and found a suitable table they could sit on and sat down and waited. Later, a waitress came over and was wearing a white Chinese waitress outfit and had an Asian face, meaning that she was from China or Japan. She had black hair wrapped in a bun and greeted both Todd and his mother with a warm smile.

"Good evening, welcome to the Yummi Chinese Kitchen. My name is Wong and I shall be your waitress." The Chinese waitress known as Wong greeted them. "I'm so delighted to have new customers here in our restaurant."

"Oh thank you so much Miss Wong." Alexa smiled at her. Wong nodded and handed them their menus, showing different kinds of food in the Yummi Chinese Kitchen.

"So, what do you two like to drink?" Wong asked them politely.

"Hmm...I think I'll take a glass of water." Alexa suggested. Wong nodded and wrote the order down on her notepad before turning to Todd.

"And what would you like young man?" Wong asked.

"Oh...um...I'll just have some water as well." Todd replied, closing his menu in a huff. Wong nodded and wrote his order down her notepad.

"Alright, I'll go and get your drinks." Wong nodded and headed over to the kitchen to go and prepare for their orders. While they waited, Alexa decided to talk with Todd, hoping to understand him more and maybe bond and be close to her son.

"So...you enjoying your vacation, so far Todd?" Alexa asked with a warm smile.

"Yeah..." Todd replied, letting out a sigh as he tapped his fingers on the table as he wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe after we're done eating here, we could explore more around Oakton City if you want." Alexa offered.

"Thanks mom, but I don't feel like in the mood right now..." Todd declined, glancing away.

"Todd...what's the matter?" Alexa asked in worried. "Come on, I'm your mother, I'll understand."

Todd let out another sigh and replied "Well...I was just thinking about what that bully did the other day..."

"Huh? You mean the one that you've punched in the face before that got you suspended from school again?" Alexa raised her brow at her son, who smiled sheepishly at her.

"Okay okay, let's not relive in the past, alright?" Todd chuckled before frowning a bit. "Anyway, it's just what he did that ticked me off the most."

"What? You mean breaking your PSVita?" Alexa guessed, but Todd shook his head and clench his fist in anger.

"No...he was calling my dad a loser..." Todd muttered, shocking Alexa.

"What?!" She asked, looking at her son in disbelief and felt heartbroken that someone would talk bad about her husband like that.

"Yeah, he kept talking how much a coward and loser my dad was..." Todd darkened his face as he reminiscence that day with the bully that broke his PSVita.

"That's so cruel! But even so, it still wasn't nice to punch him, you know." Alexa reminded him.

"But I had to do something! Anyone who talks bad about dad or anyone I look up to just makes me so...mad!..." Todd said angrily, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Todd..." Alexa said, smiling sadly at her son. "I understand how you feel. You miss your father, right?"

"Huh?" Todd asked, surprised that his mother brought that up. Unbeknownst to them, a woman was listening into their conversation as she hid behind a big house plant. She looked a lot similar to Wong, but except she looked a little older and had her hair strapped in a short ponytail and wore a black Chinese Waitress outfit and a charm bracelet on her left hand. Apparently, this little waitress was named Wang and was the owner of the Yummi Chinese Kitchen. She was minding her own business and checking up to see how her customers were enjoying their food until she overhears a conversation between Todd and his mother, Alexa.

"It's just that...I miss him too." Alexa said, looking at the table with a sad look. "From the day I met your father, he was a caring young man, and I always admired his cocky nature. He would always be there for me whenever I felt bad. He even did the same for you when you were young. He always cared and loved us no matter what, and would even sacrifice his own life for us. But if you keep remembering him, he'll always live by our hearts, I promise."

Todd looked at his mother in shock before darkening his face. "But I don't want him in my heart...I want him here...with you...and me."

"I understand, but like I said, just keep remembering him and he'll stay in our hearts." Alexa assured, putting her hand on her son's cheek. Todd looked at her, and felt that she was right.

"Okay mom, I'll keep remembering him and never forget him..." Todd softly smiled at his mother, feeling happy that his mother would cheer him up. "Besides...I remember his promise to me that I can become a great man like him, and I still haven't forgotten about it."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you haven't forgotten about that." Alexa smiled at her son. The waitress became a little surprised to see Todd's mother giving her son some encouragement about their deceased father.

"Poor little boy..." Wang muttered sadly as she felt heartbroken for the boy's father, but a little happy that Todd would never forget his father. She then that Todd took out his PSVita and began playing 'Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time".

His mother chuckled at him playing his game and asked "Wow, you must really like your thief and heist characters, don't you?"

"Yeah, but mostly Sly Cooper." Todd replied with a soft grin on his face. "I also like and admire other characters like Nathan Drake from Uncharted, Robin Hood from his movies, and RJ from Over The Hedge."

"I see..." Alexa softly smile with a sad expression on her face. "But you must know that stealing is wrong and you should never do that kind of stuff."

"Nah, don't worry mom." Todd assured with a small smile while he focuses on his game. "It'll be okay as long as they'd have a good side or change of heart, and it wouldn't be like I'll follow into their footsteps."

Alexa sighed and said "Alright, Todd. Just as long as you don'y steal...or cause any kind of crime or trouble."

Todd nodded and replies "Yes mom...and thank you."

"Hm? For what?" Alexa asked in confusion.

"For taking my PSVita to the repair and getting it fixed. I really appreciate that..." Alexa understood what her son meant as she nodded and let out a warm smile at her son.

"Anytime sweetie." Alexa said, happy to see her son smiling and relaxing at last on this vacation of theirs.

Meanwhile, back with Wang as she overheard everything from Todd and Alexa's conversation.

"Oh my..." Wang covered her mouth, depressed on how much Todd went through. "Poor little kid." She puts her hand on her chest and closes her eye, wishing if there was a way to help bring the child's happiness again. Luckily, she widened her eyes on knowing one way.

"Actually...I think I someone for the job, and someone else who has the same trouble as him." Wang said, softly smiling towards Todd and his mother. Soon, she noticed her sister coming towards the table with Alexa and her son's drinks.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late! It took a long while to get you both some waters, and...I'm so sorry!" Wong apologized.

"No no, it's quite alright, but thanks for delivering our drinks." Alexa assured with a nervous grin. Wong sighed in relief as she smiled softly at the two and asked "Okay, now with that out of the way, what would you two like to order?"

"Oh...let's see..um..." As Alexa and Todd took out their menus and went over whatever they would like to eat, Wong noticed someone hiding behind the pillar of the restaurant, and saw a glimpse of her older sister. Wang saw her sister looking at her as she was giving her a stern glare towards her, realizing that her older sister was up to something, and it has something to do with both Todd and Alexa.

"Umm...Miss Wong?" Wong blinked her eyes as she turned to both Alexa and her son, who was looking at her in confusion. "Did you hear what I said about what me and my son would like to order?"

"O-Oh! S-so sorry about that! I guess I was off in my own little world! Heh heh heh..." Wong chuckled nervously as Todd and his mother looked at each other in confusion before shrugging off. Soon after, Wong was able to write down their orders and told them that she would get right on it! As she took her leave, Wang looked over to see if her younger sister was gone, and seeing no sight of her, she lets out a sigh of relief.

"Phew...for a second there, I thought she would come over and try to annoy me with her stern talk." Wang sighed.

"A-HEM!" Wang let out a small gasp as she slightly turned around to see her younger sister tapping her foot while she made a serious and stern look at her. Wang made a sheepish smile and chuckled nervously and asked "Oh hey sis, what's going on?"

"Stop lying Wong, just what are you doing now? Why were you spying over one of our customers?" Wong demanded.

"Oh..well..." Wang rubbed her cheek in embarrassment before sighing. "Look, I was checking up to see how were our customers doing before overhearing a conversation from that little boy and his mother." She pointed towards the table where both Alexa and Todd were, who were still waiting for their food as Todd continued to play with his Sly Cooper game with his headphones on.

"Oh, you mean them? Why's that?" Wong asked, loosing her stern look and it was replaced with confusion.

"See...I overheard about what happened to the boy's father, and felt so bad for him, and it seems it still affects him to this day. Even his own mother is suffering from this as well." Wang explained, surprising her own little sister. "They may look okay and say that they're fine, but I could almost feel how much they still suffering from the boy's father demise."

"I see...I guess you couldn't let that stop you from hearing from that, eh?" Wong asked, making a sad smile at her sister. Wang nodded and said "Exactly, and after hearing how much he cares for thieves, I came up with an idea and know who can help him, and maybe the kid can help him as well."

"What? Who are you referring?" Wong asked curiously. Wang whispered through her ear, surprising her sister. "What?! Are you even sure that's a good idea?! I mean, how are you...Wait, no you can't!"

"Hey! This might be a good idea of mine! Besides, you know who you talking to?!" Wang pointed to the name tag on her chest, showing that she was the owner of the Yummi Chinese Kitchen. With a defeated sigh, Wong let out an annoyed look and said "Fine...you win. But what if things don't go as you planned?"

"Oh don't worry, I got someone else to help as well." Wang assured with a soft smile.

"Wait...you don't mean..."

"Trust me on this one, it's the only way. Sure, he may be...reckless and such." Wang chuckled nervously with a sweat-drop.

"And don't forget incredibly insane and weird." Wong added with a deadpan expression.

"Sis, trust me! I promise that things will turn out alright!" Wang assured with confidence. Wong let out a sigh and replied "Alright, I'll allow it...but don't come crying to me that things didn't go as planned."

"Oh relax sis, leave it ya older sister." Wang nudged her sister with a smile on her face. "By the way, you should probably get their order before they start to grow hungry and leave our restaurant to go and find another place to eat."

Wong realized this as she quickly made her way to the kitchen and went to inform the chefs of their next order. Wang looks back at both Todd and Alexa and lets out a soft smile at them before muttering "Trust me...this will totally work..."

* * *

 ** _Later_**

After finally getting their food, Todd and Alexa finally enjoyed their delicious lunch, Todd rubs his stuffed belly and let out a light burp, covering his mouth and blushing lightly. His mother chuckles and asked "I guess you enjoyed your food, huh Todd?"

"Y-yeah..." Todd replied with a shrug.

Alexa then smiles and asked "You know Todd, we could always have some dessert? I'm thinking of buying a delicious ice cream sundae!"

Todd chuckled at his mother, knowing that his mother was so addictive on ice cream. He just hopes that she doesn't overeats like last time.

"Oh, excuse me." Todd and his mother turned around to see Wang coming towards them with a smile on her face. "Have you enjoy your meal?"

"Oh yes, it was so good! Right Todd?" Alexa asked her son.

"Y-yeah, it sure was..." Todd glanced away before letting out a soft smile.

"Well, just wanna check over to see if everything's alright." Wang nodded before saying "By the way, I am Wang, owner of the Yummi Chinese Kitchen."

"Oh...Nice to meet you ma'am." Alexa said, surprised that she and her son would meet up with the owner. "If we're bothering you, we can always leave and-"

"Oh no, like I said before, I was checking up on my customers to see if they were enjoying their food, that's all." Wang assured with a light chuckle before showing them a tray of two fortune cookies. "Anyway, just wanna leave some of these good fortune cookies for you two. After all, we do always love giving customers their fortune before they leave. Just read them, and maybe it'll come true and find your purpose in the future."

"Oh, um...thank you so much." Alexa nodded before turning to her son. "Say thank you Todd?"

"Um...thanks?" Todd said with a shrug. Wang handed each of them a fortune cookie before she bowed and took her leave.

"You know, I wonder if my fortune will be a great one, what do you think Todd?" Alexa asked her son with a soft smile.

"I...guess." Todd shrugged, unsure about that. Soon, both him and his mother opened the fortune cookies, showing which of their fortune says.

 _"Change can hurt, but it leads a path to something better."_ Alexa read her fortune out loud before making a warm smile on her face. "Huh, I guess it's right about one thing." Alexa muttered before turning to her son. "So what does your fortune says, Todd?"

"Umm...let me see..." Todd replied as he looked over his fortune cookie and read what it says.

 _"A journey soon begins, a prize reflected in another's eyes. What you see is what you lack, then selfless love can change you back."_ Todd read his fortune cookie aloud, but became confused on what it meant.

"Huh...what the heck does that mean?" Todd questioned.

"I have no idea, but it's just a fortune, those things never come true, anyway." Alexa waved it off. Todd looked at her for a second before looking back at his fortune. Todd was thinking just what his fortune could possibly mean? He just shrugged it off and puts it inside of his pocket, deciding to hold onto it for a while. He sighed and went back on and decided to have that dessert with his mother, not knowing that the owner of the Yummi Chinese Kitchen was making a sly smirk at him.

* * *

Soon after, they finished up their dessert and Alexa paid the check as they began leaving the Yummi Chinese Kitchen and decided to head back to the hotel.

"Oh boy, that food was so good! I barely couldn't contain myself, huh Todd?" Alexa asked her son with a happy smile on her face.

"Y-yeah, it...sure was..." Todd said, feeling a bit tired for some reason. He put his hand on his head, feeling a bit dizzy all of a sudden. Alexa noticed this and became worried about him.

"Todd, is there something wrong?" Alexa asked in concern.

"Y-yeah mom...just a little headache, that's all." Todd assured, before letting out a moan. "Man, must be from the food or something. But I'm sure it'll go away."

"Well...okay sweetie. Come on, let's go back to the hotel and unpack our things to see if we got everything." Alexa said as she and Todd began walking through the streets to see more tourist sights around the city. Todd began rubbing his head as his eye began swirling in dizziness for some reason but decided to shake it off and ignore it. Unbeknownst to them, a white squirrel was watching them afar on top of the Chinese restaurant that Todd and Alexa exited out as he lets out a small smirk.

"Huh...something tells me this is gonna be interesting." The white squirrel said to himself as he walks off somewhere into the unknown parts of the city of Oakton.

* * *

 ** _The Next Day_**

It was another beautiful day in Oakton as Todd and his mother had already exited out of the hotel building and began to go explore around Oakton City after unpacking and seeing if they had everything they need for this vacation. With all of that done yesterday, they began to head out to enjoy their awesome trip around Oakton.

"Hmm...I do want to see what's in store for this city..." Alexa muttered, deciding where to go around the city. Todd was still trying to ignore his headache and the dizziness. Apparently, he tried to go to sleep and ignore the headache, but it didn't work and wouldn't just go away. His mother began growing worried for him, but he assures that it's just a headache and it's just nothing. While they walked around the city streets, Alexa noticed a small jewelry store, which perks up her interest.

"Hmm...I do want to see what kind of jewelry they have." Alexa rubbed his chin in thought before making an excited grin. "Alright, I think I'll buy something here."

"At a jewelry store?" Todd asked, raising a brow.

"Well I do want to buy more jewelry, so yeah." Alexa shrugged. "Anyway, I'll be right back in a flash." With that, she entered the store, leaving Todd outside. Todd sighed and leaned against the wall and sighs before noticing a boy and his father hanging out and spending time as the little boy was holding onto his father's hand and they were chuckling happily.

Todd sadly smiles, remembering his father and the promise he made with him. He sighs sadly upon remembering his dad until he widened his eyes, seeing that the dizziness was getting to him, but even worse.

"W-what the?...What's going...on...?" Todd began to lose his balance and tries to walk it off, but it wouldn't go away. He then stumbles into an abandoned alleyway and tries not to fall down.

"Getting dizzy...what's...happening...to...me...?" With that, Todd slowly closes his eyes and collapses on the ground, blacking out and soon a bright light shined on his body, making everything blacked out.

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	4. Chapter 3 - The Meet and Greet

**_Note: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfic. The Nut Job and the Nut Job 2 belongs to Toonbox Entertainment, and all characters belong to their respective creators, but the OC's in this story belong to me and Dusk19. Please support the official release of the Nut Job 3 and its series._**

"Hey...you okay? Wake up!"

Todd slowly opened his eyes, seeing a pair of purple eyes looking straight at him. "GAH!"

"Good morning sleepyhead!" The squirrel chuckled. It looked like a white squirrel, but there was something unusual about this squirrel as he was wearing a black and white scarf that shapes like a checkerboard. He had a little bit of spiky hair on his head, and had purple eyes. "Well, it's about time you woke up."

"W-what the?! What are you?! How can a squirrel talk?" Todd exclaimed in fear. "I must be dreaming...this has to be a dream, right?"

"Really? A dream? You know, humans that sees the most unusual things like seeing a talking squirrel or such assumes that they're either going crazy or in a dream." The squirrel said with a smirk on his face. "Oh yeah? How silly of me to not introduce myself, names Kokichi The Squirrel by the way. Get it? My middle name is 'The', and my last name is 'Squirrel', it's a quite similar name like that one character...Sonic!"

"W-what are you even talking about?" Todd asked in confusion before noticing his surrounding. "And why is almost everything around here bigger and taller than me?"

"You really haven't notice?" Kokichi chuckled. "Seeing me talking and the area more bigger than usual? It's quite obvious, you know."

"Not to me!" Todd exclaimed before feeling his torso. He slowly widened his eyes and looked down, only to see a brown-yellowish body. "W-what the? Where's a mirror?!"

"There's one nearby over by that trash can." Kokichi pointed towards the nearby trash can. Todd immediately ran straight and saw a broken shard of a mirror as he gazes on what it was. His body was covered in brown-yellowish fur on his upper body, and on his underside of his body, was brownish-orange fur. He also hard sharp claws, and brown-yellowish tail, and still had his yellow neon headphones, except their a lot smaller to his average size.

"W-w-w-what the heccccckk!?" Todd exclaimed in shock. "W-what happened to me?!"

"You still don't get it?" Kokichi asked with a smirk. "You've been transformed into a squirrel. Well, more like a fox squirrel."

"I know that genius, but I want to know is how did I get turned into a squirrel!" Todd exclaimed angrily.

"Well, you can thank that fortune cookie for working that spell on you." Kokichi chuckled, which Todd confused.

"Fortune cookie? What fortune...Wait, you mean THAT fortune cookie?!" Todd exclaimed. "But wait, that can't be right. That's just a fortune! It can't be a spell! That's...ridiculous!"

"Oh no, see, the fortune you read the other day was a spell. Don't you remember that Chinese manager that gave you that fortune? Apparently, she gave you and your mother different fortunes. One was a normal one, which your mother received, but the other, which you had, was a magic spell that anyone who reads it, transforms them into a squirrel." Kokichi explained. "And you just happened to be its lucky winner, Todd Lloyd."

"T-this is all too crazy..." Todd said, putting his ha..I mean, paw on his head and shook his head before widening his eyes and looked at Kokichi. "Wait a minute, how do you know that? And...how do you know my name?"

"Oh, forget about that right now. Look, the point is this, you were transformed into a squirrel thanks to the fortune, end of story." Kokichi said, getting a little annoyed.

"No...this is all a dream. I just need to pinch myself, that's all." Todd said before pinching his cheeks. "OW!"

"Hey, weren't you listening to me?!" Kokichi exclaimed before sighing "Oh well, doesn't matter. You still won't face reality, no wonder why the spell worked. You're too ignorant and heartbroken that you won't accept anyone as your friend nor face the truth."

"Just shut up! I don't wanna believe any of this! I need to wake up!" Todd exclaimed before banging his head on the mirror, which caused him to bleed a little. "Okay...bad idea."

"Jeez, no wonder why humans are so stupid and ignorant these days..." Kokichi smirked while shaking his head, ignoring the glare coming from Todd. "But anyway, look you idiot, you're stuck in that form for the rest of your life."

Todd widened his eyes in realization as he began to think about his mother. "No...mom. How am I supposed to go back to my mother?" Tears began to form in his eyes and started to whimper.

"Hey, there's no need to cry." Kokichi assured with a chuckle. "There IS a way to get you back to normal."

Todd stopped crying as he wiped away his tears and looked at Kokichi in shock. "R-really? How?!"

"Easy, all you gotta do is read that fortune again, and by the next day or so, you'll be back to normal." Kokichi smirked as it brightens Todd's hopes.

"Yes! That means I can go back home and go back to my normal life! I just need to read my fortune and..." Todd looked over his body, but couldn't find the little piece of paper. "Wait, where is it? Where the heck is it? Where is it?!"

"Oh, you mean this?" Kokichi asked, showing him his fortune. Todd widened his eyes upon seeing it.

"What the heck?! How did you get that?!"

"I don't know." Kokichi shrugged.

"Well doesn't matter, hand it over!" Todd demanded. Kokichi chuckled and said "Oh, you mean this?"

"Yes..." Todd raised a brow, wondering what this white squirrel is planning.

"Well, I'll be happy to give it to ya..." Kokichi smirked devilishly. "But I'm afraid I can't."

"W-what?" Todd asked in confusion. Kokichi clapped his paws together, pressing the fortune in his grasps, rubbed his paws together, and showed them, with no fortune in either paw. "What the?! What did you do?!"

"Oh don't worry, I hid the fortune somewhere that you'll never find, and that only I know where! Besides, I am here as your little guide to help you on your journey of self-discovery. It's like that one RPG Game that everyone likes. I wonder what it was? Final Fantasy or something? Seriously, Square Enix makes too many games for that series!"

Todd raised a brow at the white squirrel for being...insane. "Just what's wrong with this squirrel?" Todd muttered with a raised brow. Suddenly, they heard a can dropping and rolling on the ground.

"What the?" Kokichi asked before he and Todd turned around to see a bunch of rats walking out of the shadows of the alleyway with hunger in their eyes. "Well...that's not good."

"Umm...hello there?" Todd smiled sheepishly at them as the street rats licked their lips at them.

"Well well well, looks what the town dragged in." The first rat said with a vicious smirk on his face.

"Didn't mommy teach you not to wonder off in the city, pipsqueaks?" The second rat chuckled evilly.

"Hey! I'm way older than this sucker!" Kokichi exclaimed, causing Todd to deadpan at him.

"Jeez, that's way more helpful." Todd said before smiling nervously at the street rats. "But listen, we don't mean any harm, so we'll happily take our leave and-"

"Oh, don't worry you two, we'll delightfully help you out of this alleyway..." The third rat said before licking his lips at both Todd and Kokichi. "But first, why not join us for some dinner?"

"Yeah, I hear Squirrel Stew was on the menu." The second rat agreed.

"Squirrel Stew? That sounds like a stupid name." Kokichi said bluntly, but Todd realized what the rats meant as he started to back away from them.

"Hey...I think we should get out of here." Todd said as the rats began closing in on them.

"Yeah, you guys should probably run...or else we'll eat ya!" The first rat said as he smiling evilly.

"Oh crap-baskets..." Kokichi muttered.

"Q-quick! Do something!" Todd exclaimed.

"What?! Why me?!" Kokichi yelled.

"You said that you were my guide, so help me at least!" Todd retorted back. Kokichi sighed and said "Fine, leave this to me!"

The rats began were even closer to them as Kokichi glared at them as he thought of one thing.

"Look! A supermodel!" Kokichi upwards to the sky, which the rats didn't fall for. "Look! A Meteor! Look! A cloud! Look! Taylor Swift!"

Todd gave me an unimpressed look at him and face-pawed himself.

"Did you really think that would work? We're not that stupid." The second rat rolled his eyes.

"Are you suggesting that you're really are stupid?" Kokichi smirked.

"W-what?! That's not what I meant!"

"That sounds like a confession." Kokichi shrugged, angering the rats.

"Oh really? Then tell us how you and the little brat are going to escape from our grasps? We can pretty catch you the moment you flee." The third rat said.

"Oh well, I got one last trick up my sleeve, and it's...uh..." Kokichi looked around until he noticed a pebble on the ground. "Rock to the face!" He immediately threw it at the third rat, causing him to fall over. "AHH! Quick! Run for your lives while you still can, Toddy!"

"First of all, don't call me 'Toddy'! Second...RUUUUN!" Todd immediately took off, along with Kokichi as they immediately crossed the street. Luckily, there weren't any cars or many people around as they looked back to see the three rats running towards them on all fours. The rat that was hit by the rock Kokichi had a black eye as he snarled angrily towards the white squirrel.

"Keep running! My life is on the line!" Kokichi exclaimed.

"Oh yeah?! So is mine!" Todd exclaimed angrily as they ran through the streets. Soon later, they saw an entrance that leads to Liberty Park, the biggest national park of Oakton City.

"Look, there's our ticket in there! We're gonna live!" Kokichi said, smiling happily. Todd felt relieved at what Kokichi said as he smiled in relief as they continued to headed for the entrance until they both fell down and trip.

"What the?!" Todd exclaimed before he noticed that he and Kokichi's legs' were trapped underneath some gum. "G-gum?!"

"Oh come on! I just washed my feet an hour ago!" Kokichi exclaimed angrily until both he and Todd noticed the street rats walking toward their directions as they began chuckling with evil smirks on their faces. "Oh no...don't do this! Don't eat us! I taste horrible!"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid we don't accept mercy." The first rat said.

"No...I don't wanna die...WAHHHHHH!" Kokichi began dramatically crying as tears began to water all over. Todd sweat-dropped a little before turning back to the rats in fear.

"Y-you can't do this!" Todd exclaimed with a feared expression.

"Actually...we can and will." The third rat said as he licked his lips at them and began to walked towards them and ready to have their dinners until...

"Stop right there, you nasty city fiends! Leave those poor innocent little squirrel alone!"

"Huh?" The street rats asked in unison.

"Says who?" The second rat asked in confusion.

"Says the legendary park hero, Grayson! Ole!" Suddenly, someone tackled one of the rats and began fighting them. It was a gray squirrel with a charming look as he punched the first rat right in the kisser. He then kicks the second rat in the groins, and the third rat was headbutted by Grayson.

"Well...didn't see that coming." Kokichi said as all his tears were gone, which surprised Todd.

"H-how?" Todd muttered in shock. Just what's up with this squirrel?!

Soon after, the street rats hissed at Grayson before retreating back into the city, which was a relief to the gray squirrel himself. Grayson wiped a sweat from his forehead as he turned to both Kokichi and Todd and asked "Are you two lovely citizens doing alright?"

"Yeah, thanks." Todd smiled. "Could you help us out of this gum?"

"No problem!" Grayson grabbed both of their paws and pulled them out. Grayson then noticed Kokichi and said "Oh hey Kokichi, didn't expect you to come back so early. I thought you went to take a couple days off from the park?"

"Well, that was a lie I told. I said that to avoid your stupid annoyance. I'm a little surprised that you fought them off despite your little..stupidity." Kokichi said bluntly, which shocked Grayson.

"Why I never!" Grayson exclaimed angrily before crossing his arms in a huff.

"Anyway..." Todd glared at Kokichi before turning to Grayson with a smile on his face. "Thanks so much for saving us! You really saved our butts right there!"

Grayson laughed loudly at the fox squirrel and replied "Why thank you little squirrel! At least there's someone around here who appreciates my work."

"Yeah, sure they do..." Kokichi sighed, shaking his head. Suddenly...

"Grayson, there you are! You can't just run off like that!" The three turned around to see a female red squirrel running towards them with a stern look on her face. "Seriously, please don't run away like that! You almost had me worried!"

"Heh heh..." Grayson chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed his head. "Sorry, it's just that I heard Kokichi and his little friend cries for help and I had to do something to defend from those dirty rats! As a hero, I mustn't let the innocence get hurt!"

"Sure, whatever you say Gayson..." Kokichi snickered, ignoring the growl coming from Grayson. "So anyway, wasn't expecting you show up Andie."

"Oh...hey Kokichi." Andie sighed, not expecting to see him again. Todd looked between Kokichi and Andie and asked "Wait, do you guys know each other?"

"Yes, he's been living in this park for a long time since he was a kit, and he has quite a troublesome record that even Raccoon nor I could count." Andie explained, glaring at Kokichi.

"What? I done no such thing." Kokichi smirked. "Nee-hee-hee, seriously Andie, stop being naggy! Who do you think you are? My mom?"

"Didn't you ask her that before you left yesterday?" Grayson said in confusion.

"Oh...I guess it slipped through my head." Kokichi said bluntly.

"Anyway, who is this kid you're with?" Andie asked, pointing at Todd.

"Oh him, that's Todd Lloyd, my new 'best friend'." Kokichi chuckled, surprising Todd.

"Friends?! Since when?!" Todd exclaimed.

"I see...so you were dragged in more from Kokichi's craziness." Andie sighed before saying "But don't worry, you get used to it."

"Gee, I don't know about that..." Todd muttered while rolling his eyes.

"But you know, I never seen a squirrel wearing those things on your head before." Andie gestured about the headphones. "Say, what's a little child like you doing here all alone? Don't you have a place to live?"

Todd began to realize that now he's a fox squirrel, he's stuck in this as Kokichi hid away his fortune. Todd becomes sad and answered "No, I can't remember where my mother lives. This city is way too huge for me to even know where I live." Todd sighed sadly.

"It's okay, I'm sure you can stay in Liberty Park till we find your mother, we promise." Andie said before Grayson said "That's right! No way an innocent child like yourself should be alone! We'll protect you no matter what!"

Todd couldn't help but smile at them while Kokichi sighed.

"Wow, thanks, I guess." Todd rubbed his head bashfully.

"Whatever..." Kokichi shrugged.

"By the way, how did you end up here alone, and got separated from your mother?" Andie questioned.

Todd chuckled nervously, rubbed his cheek in embarrassment and replied "Well, funny story. See, I'm actually a human, and that I was transformed into a squirrel by a magic fortune cookie. I was acting all dizzy a while ago and I woke up as a squirrel, and was greeted by this...weirdo, and he told me everything what happened and somehow knew my name, and knew why I was transformed into a squirrel, and took away my only way back home, and we were chased by a bunch of street rats before Grayson came over and saved our lives."

"Which made him pretty useful this time." Kokichi said bluntly. "I knew that my fake crying would grab this idiot's attention."

"Nobody asked you..." Todd growled before noticing the confusion and disbelief from Grayson and Andie's faces. "What? Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"...Actually, forget that I asked. Never mind." Andie hold her paws in gesture, surprising Todd.

"What?! You don't believe in me?!" Todd exclaimed in shock. "B-but...it's the truth!"

"I'm just confused about all this! I mean, what you said isn't real, right?" Grayson asked in worried. "There's no way I'll believe in anything like that!"

"That's new, even for you, Grayson. Ooh, that rhyme..." Kokichi chuckled.

"No! It's the truth, and I'll prove it!" Todd quickly turned to Kokichi with a worried look. "Come on Kokichi, tell them the truth! Tell them that I'm not making this all up!"

"Kokichi...is he telling the truth?" Andie asked, raising a brow.

Kokichi looked at him, blinking in surprise before letting out a smirk and putting his paws behind his head and replied "I have no idea what you're saying. I mean, that's gotta be the stupidest lie I ever heard of."

"What?!" Todd exclaimed in shock.

"Kokichi, you sure?" Andie asked.

"Course Andie, would I lie to you?" Kokichi chuckled with a smirk. "Besides, who knows? Because I'm just a liar."

"So...are you telling the truth or telling us a lie? I cannot tell with you anymore." Grayson exclaimed, putting his paws on his head.

"Well either way, looks like poor old Todd will be staying here till he finds his poor mother. How exciting." Kokichi said with a wink. Todd gritted his teeth and growled at him, irritated that Kokichi not only took away and hid his fortune, but to lie and not back him up.

"Anyway..." Andie cleared her throat before softly smiling. "It's best if we brought you towards our leader, he can help out and get you a nice place to live at, Todd."

"...Alright." Todd sighed as Andie and Grayson led both Kokichi and Todd towards the entrance of Liberty Park, seeing the greenery, and the tall trees around here. While walking, Todd turned to Kokichi with an angry look and whispered "Dude, what the heck?! Why couldn't you tell them and back me up?!"

"I couldn't, even if I wanted to or not." Kokichi whispered while shrugging. "Besides, do you want the animals here to think of you as a psychotic creep?"

"...Touche." Todd sighed as they continued their way through Liberty Park. While they walked, they noticed some chipmunks, brown squirrels, mice, and groundhogs walking around, playing, chatting, and such.

"Whoa..." Todd muttered, seeing this many park animals all together. Soon after, they then noticed three peculiar groundhogs fighting each other. One was a male groundhog with a Mohawk, the second was the same as the first except he had no Mohawk, and the third was a female groundhog, who was smaller than the last two.

"Oh my!" Kokichi eyes started to sparkle upon seeing the female groundhog. "It's so nice to see Miss Jamie enjoying her time with her brothers."

"Miss Jamie?" Todd asked, raising a brow at the albino squirrel.

"He means Jamie, and a member of the Bruisers, and it looks like they're fighting each other again..." Andie replied to Todd's question as she shook her head as she called them. "Johnny! Jimmy! Jamie!"

"Eh?" The three stopped fighting each other and noticed Andie and the others. "Oh hey Andie! Grayson! Good to see ya guys again!" Johnny greeted them.

"Ah, how are my biggest fans doing?" Grayson grinned as Jimmy patted on his back hard and replied "We're doing awesome! I was just in a disagreement with my brother whether if we should find food or stay and dig a hole to store our food in."

Jimmy glared at his twin brother, Johnny, as he exclaimed "Oh come on! I rather dig our hole than finding food! We barely find any in this park!"

"Look, you morons!" Jamie exclaimed angrily, glaring at both of her brothers. "I understand that we're trying to find a way on how to solve this, but we need to think of this rationally!"

"We are thinking rationally!" Johnny and Jimmy exclaimed angrily.

"Ahh, another bright idea from the great Miss Jamie." Kokichi sighed happily. "I'm proud of you of that! An excellent idea Miss Jamie!"

"Oh...hey Kokichi. Didn't see you there...not that I wanted to." Jamie face-pawed herself upon seeing Kokichi. Kokichi walked towards her with a goofy smile and wiggling his eyebrows, which made her uncomfortable.

"You know, I love a girl who is stronger and smarter than her two dimwitted brothers." Kokichi chuckled happily, which disgust Jamie and angered Johnny and Jimmy.

"Hey!" They both exclaimed angrily.

"Kokichi, what did I say last time?" Jamie warned him. "Don't come five feet from me!"

"Sorry, I don't remember that." Kokichi chuckled before smiling. "Any who, I believe I deserve a kiss of seeing you again." Kokichi came close to Jamie's face and was about to kiss her until Jamie knocked him into the ground with Todd with a 'Ooh! That's gotta hurt' expression.

"I told you to stay away from me you creep!" Jamie exclaimed angrily.

"Well...didn't see that coming." Todd said, blinking in surprise as Kokichi tried to get his head out of the ground.

"I did..." Andie sighed, shaking her head at him. The Bruisers soon noticed Todd and became confused on who he was.

"Say Andie, Grayson, who's the kid?" Johnny asked.

"Oh, this is Todd. He's new around here and will be staying with us for a while until we can find him his home." Andie explained with a smile on her face.

"Umm...hi there?" Todd waved at them as the Bruisers came to him with smiles on their faces.

"Nice to meet ya Todd, names Jimmy!" Jimmy introduced himself. "This is my bro, Johnny, and my sis, Jamie."

"Hey!"

"How are you doing?"

"Well it's nice to meet you three." Todd said with a smile on his face. "So anyway, I overheard Andie saying that you're the Bruisers? What's that?"

"Oh we're a group of strong animals that can help out any animal here in Liberty Park!" Johnny answered, puffing his chest in proud.

Todd became impressed to hear that and said "Wow, that sounds awesome!"

"Yeah, but we mostly just do pranks and other junk." Jamie shrugged.

"Oh well, I still think that's pretty awesome." Todd shrugged with a smile on his face. He was immediately grabbed by Jimmy and hugged by him.

"Thanks kid! Maybe one day when you're big and strong like us, we can make you a member of our group, what do you say?" Jimmy asked as he didn't noticed that he was squeezing Todd too hard.

"T-thanks...now can you please let me go?..." Todd asked as his face began to turn blue.

"Hey! Let go of him! You're choking him!" Andie exclaimed, noticing Todd's face changing color. Jimmy immediately realized what he was doing and let go of Todd and chuckled nervously.

"Sorry about that Todd." Jimmy rubbed his head. Todd regain his breath and dust himself off and replied "It's okay, but thanks for the offer, I guess."

"Anytime." Jimmy nodded before Jamie asking "Say, what are those things on your head?"

"Oh? These?" Todd said, taking off his small headphones. "These are called headphones. They allowed you to listen to music."

"Listen to music? This thing?" Johnny asked in confusion.

"I somehow doubt that a device like that could do that." Grayson said, unsure about Todd's headphones. Kokichi immediately got his head out of the ground and turned to them with a small smile on his face.

"Well of course idiots like you all wouldn't know, well except Miss Jamie since she's more brilliant than any of you combined." Kokichi chuckled, oblivious to the glares everyone was giving him. "It's one of those human technology that they created."

"Ahh." They all nodded as Todd put his headphones back on and said "Well anyway, I guess it was nice meeting you guys."

"Alright, see ya." Johnny said as he and his siblings waved goodbye to their new friend as Todd and the others continued their way to meet up with the Park Leader. "Now where were we?"

"Last I remembered was punching you in the nose." Jimmy reminded him.

"Oh right." Johnny snapped his claws before going back on a fight with his brother with Jamie face-pawing herself.

"This day cannot get any worse." Jamie sighed as Kokichi came back and said "Hey Miss Jamie! I forgot to tell you that you're quite magnificent, and that your punches are so brilliant like your fur color. It really suits you."

Jamie growled at him and exclaimed "Get out of here or you'll end up like my brothers!"

"Ha ha ha...Okay!" Kokichi waved goodbye with a cheerful yet perverted smile before taking his leave.

* * *

Soon after, they stopped in front of a giant abandoned mill, which Todd stared in awe.

"Wow, so this is where your leader lives?" Todd asked in surprise.

"Well, most of the time." Andie replied. "But yeah, he uses it for meetings and such. Follow us."

"And trust us, you're gonna love him! He's the world's wisest animal in the world!" Grayson exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure he is..." Kokichi muttered while rolling his eyes. Todd looked at Kokichi and realized that he was being sarcastic, causing him to raise a brow. Wonder why Kokichi would say something mean like that to the Park Leader? They soon entered the mill and discovered two figures standing around at the end of the mill.

It was a raccoon, and he seemed pretty old in his age. He was pretty taller than any of the animals around the park, and he had a red cardinal on his left arm. The other was a Mole whose fur color with a pink nose.

"Raccoon, sir." Andie gained his attention as he turned around with a soft smile on his face.

"Ah, Andie, Grayson, I trust things are well?" Raccoon asked before noticing both Todd and Kokichi. "Oh, Kokichi. I wasn't expecting to see you here, and who's your friend?"

"Ahh, it's nice to see you too Raccoon." Kokichi chuckled before noticing the serious expression from Raccoon. "Oh right. Anyway, this is my new friend, Todd Lloyd. Say hi Toddy."

"Umm...Hi?" Todd waved at him with a nervous expression.

"It is nice to meet you young squirrel." Raccoon smiled. "My name is Raccoon, and I lead this park, some may even call me the Park Leader."

"Park Leader?" Todd questioned.

"In other terms, he's in charge." The mole answered. "By the way, the names Mole. I'm Raccoon's right-paw animal."

"That still sounds stupid to me." Kokichi said blankly, much to Mole's anger.

"Well get to used it already! Besides, nobody asked for you, Kokichi!" Mole exclaimed. Todd raised a brow at the albino squirrel, wondering what kind of troubling reputation Kokichi has. Todd then noticed the red bird that's on Raccoon's arm looked at him with its big black eyes, which creep him out.

"Hello there?" Todd waved as it just continued to glare at him. Fortunately, Raccoon let out a chuckle and replied "I'm terribly sorry but Cardinal doesn't quite talk much. He's my little assistant that helps out around the park."

"I...see." Todd nodded, still feeling creep out by the red bird staring at him.

"So anyway, how did your patrol went?" Raccoon asked.

"It went fine a minute go, until we had a run with some street rats who were chasing Todd and Kokichi." Andie gestured both Todd and Kokichi.

"Yep, I saved those two lives from the dangerous threat of those pesky city rats!" Grayson exclaimed, puffing his chest with a proud look on his face.

"I see, well I'm glad to see that these two are safe and sound." Raccoon nodded before turning to both Todd and Kokichi. "I can understand Kokichi since he lives here, but does cause some trouble around here, but if I may ask Todd, where are you from?"

"Oh...um..." Todd didn't know how to answer that. He already tried telling the truth to both Andie and Grayson, but neither of them believes him. So how should he tell him?

"I found poor old Todd alone in the alleyway." Kokichi quickly answered with a smirk on his face, surprising Todd.

"Huh?" Todd asked as Kokichi continued "See, I was off minding my own business around the city until I found him alone in the alleyway, but he was knocked out, so I woke him up. I started to ask him some questions, and apparently, he's lost and can't seem to find his parents. So, I decided to bring him back to the park and ask you guys to help go look for his parents, but we got ambushed by a bunch of city rats, and lucky for us, I tried to fight back as hard as I can, but fail, and quickly ran away with Todd in tow. At first, when we saw Liberty Park up ahead, we gotten ourselves stuck in some gum, and when we were about to be eating, a familiar park hero came and save us, along with his red squirrel sidekick."

"Hey! Who are you calling a 'sidekick'?!" Andie exclaimed angrily.

"Yeah, I prefer for her to be called my girlfriend!" Grayson added, upsetting Andie even more.

"Not helping Grayson!" Andie yelled, causing Grayson to sheepishly smile.

"I...see, and are you sure you're telling us the truth?" Raccoon questioned. "Because you told plenty of lies to us from the past."

"Oh come on Raccoon! Would I lie to you guys?" Kokichi asked with a smile on his face. "I mean, look! Did you see these eyes?"

"Yes?" Raccoon answered, raising a brow.

"Do you know what they're filled with?"

"Umm...insanity?" Mole guessed, causing Kokichi to laugh.

"No, you silly nugget, Mole. They're filled with truth, and I would never lie to you guys. I take back all my lies and I promise I'll change! I'll change!" Kokichi began crying dramatically, causing everyone to sweat-dropped and felt disturbed by it.

"Alright, I'll accept your word." Raccoon sighed, causing Kokichi to somehow lose all his tears as he pulled out a big grin on his face.

"Ahh, thanks Raccoon! You're the best! Nee-hee-hee..." Kokichi replied.

"Somehow, I highly doubt everything you just said to us..." Mole said, blinking in surprise.

"Well anyway..." Andie cleared her throat, going back to the main topic on paw. "We came to you in hoping that maybe Todd could stay here while we try and go help him find his family."

"...Very well, Todd can stay." Raccoon replied with a soft smile. "After all, he is our guest."

Todd smiled happily and said "Gee, thanks Raccoon. You're a very nice...um...Raccoon?"

"Anytime, Todd, my boy." Raccoon chuckled happily. Andie and Grayson smiled happily at Todd, relieved that he'll be staying here for a while. Unbeknownst to everyone, Todd began to form a frown, wondering how his mother is taking with his disappearance. He hoped that maybe she would have noticed by now that he was gone.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Back at the Oakton's Jewelry Store, Alexa finally came out of the store with a long sigh.

"Sorry I took so long Todd." Alexa apologized. "Apparently, they didn't have anything that I was interested, so how about we go and get some ice cream instead?" She asked, but received no response.

"Todd?" She looked around and noticed that he wasn't around. "Todd? Where did you go?!" Alexa said as she began to panic and began calling for his name over and over while running through the streets, in hopes that her son didn't wander off too far.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Todd and Kokichi were walking through up a hill as the sun began setting.

"Man, this park is pretty big, even as a squirrel..." Todd said, gazing at the trees, the grass, the bridges, and such.

"Yeah, it's quite beautiful once you get used to it." Kokichi shrugged before sighing. "Course, maybe for you, but it's quite boring for me."

"Whatever." Todd shook his head at the albino squirrel's craziness. "Man, I wished I had my PSVita right now, but since I am a squirrel now, I guess it's gone."

"Well once you go back as a human." Kokichi shrugged. Todd then looked at Kokichi with suspicious and asked "How?"

"Hm? What now Toddy?"

"How do you know all this? The fortune cookie? My name? Besides, it's kinda weird that you woken me up at the exact same moment I woke up, you know." Todd questioned. Kokichi went silent for a moment with a blank expression. "Well?"

Kokichi's face soon started to form a sly smile and said "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god! That's so frigging hilarious! I mean, really?! You're suspecting me of being suspicious all because about everything that you described?! That's stupid!"

"Don't laugh! I'm just confused, that's all!" Todd exclaimed.

"Whatever, see ya Toddy." Kokichi began walking away, much to Todd's annoyance.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Todd asked.

"None of your business, that's for sure." Kokichi replied. "Besides, I'll be right back. Just gotta take care of some important business." With that, Kokichi took his leave, leaving Todd with more confusion. Just what is this important business he has to do? Why does he know his name? Was all of this some sort of coincidence? Just...who is Kokichi Squirrel?

Todd sighed and shook his head, having a headache of all these questions in his head. "Oh well...looks like I won't be able to answer these questions then." Todd said before getting knocked over by something.

He fell on the ground, and soon got back up, seeing a bunch of nuts around the ground. "What the?" Todd questioned before noticing a blue rat on the ground as he slowly got up and shook his head. At first, Todd was frighten by it because he thought it was another one of those street rats, until he saw the friendly face at the blue rat as he noticed Todd and waved happily at him.

"Umm...hey there." Todd slowly waved his paw at him until he notices the peanuts on the ground. "Oh my, I'm so sorry about that!" Todd exclaimed as he helped picked up some of the peanuts. Buddy softly smiled at Todd helping out and began picking up some nuts as well.

While they were picking up some nuts, Todd decided to talk with Buddy. "So anyway, I'm sure you never seen me before. Names Todd Lloyd, and I'm sorta new here around the park. Well, for a little while till I find my family, I guess." Todd finished picking up the last peanuts and handed them to Buddy, who put the rest of the peanuts into a small white bag. "So...what's your name?"

Buddy frowned and shook his head, much to Todd's confusion. Buddy started making gestures by tapping his throat, which confused Todd even more, but soon figured one thing out.

"You...can't talk, can you?" Todd guessed, which Buddy nodded in agreement. "Well, why's that?" Before Buddy could do anything, a voice shouted out.

"Hey Buddy!" Buddy's ears' perked up upon hearing someone calling his name. Todd raised a brow upon hearing that shout-out as well.

"Buddy? Is that your name?" Todd asked, until he noticed Buddy quickly grabbing the bag and running off towards a nearby tree. Todd watches Buddy leave, and sees him come up to a purple squirrel, who walked out of the shade of a tree.

"Buddy, where you've been? I was waiting for an hour for ya, and been wondering what the heck was taking so long!" The purple squirrel exclaimed. Todd watched over a conversation between Buddy and the purple squirrel. Although, of course he couldn't hear them, but he can see them. He saw Buddy making gestures and pointed towards Todd. The purple squirrel turned around and looked towards Todd as he waved at him with a nervous smile.

The purple squirrel narrowed his eyes at Todd before turning back to Buddy and said "Buddy, head back to the hideout now before anyone sees us."

Buddy nodded and immediately took off as the purple squirrel looked back at Todd and gave him a 'I'm watching you' sign before heading out.

"Huh...wonder who were those two?" Todd wondered out loud.

"Todd?" Todd turned around to see Andie walking towards him with a concern expression. "Is everything alright? Where's Kokichi? I thought he was with you."

Todd sighed in annoyance upon mentioning Kokichi. "Yeah, Weirdo Squirrel was here until he took his leave. Man, that guy is so suspicious yet he acts like he's a child."

"I know Kokichi is extremely...weird. But he's quite good once you get to know him." Andie assured before muttering "Most of the time."

"Oh yeah, by the way, to answer your other question. I encountered a blue rat carrying a bag filled with peanuts and I helped him out." Todd answered before rubbing his chin. "It was quite strange because he couldn't speak at all, and I saw him talking with some purple squirrel."

Andie gasped in shock upon who was Todd mentioning.

"What? Is there something wrong, Andie?" Todd asked in concern.

Andie glanced away with a worried look before turning back to the confused Todd. "Todd...those two you were referring were Surly and his rat partner, Buddy."

"Surly? Buddy?" Todd asked.

"Yeah, you see, Buddy is quite friendly and never spoken a single word ever since he was a kit, but for Surly...let's just say he isn't exactly the nicest rodent in the world." Andie said. "See, they're known as thieves around the park."

This got Todd surprised to hear that and somewhat got his hopes up. "R-really? That's quite amazing" He exclaimed in joy, surprising Andie a bit. "I mean, Surly could be a squirrel that steals from the bad and rich and brings them to the young and poor. That's really cool!"

"Well, not exactly..." Andie muttered with a sad smile. "Well, I wish it was. I respect and care about Surly, despite everything he ever done, and unlike everyone in this park, I stand and defend him, trying to convince the park animals to give him another chance."

"Wow, that's even more awesome, Andie!" Todd exclaimed in joy. "I mean, you keep believing in Surly and care for him, despite being a thief. That's great to hear that you like a good person who steals food for the young, that's nice to hear. You could even possibly be a voice of reason for him, right?"

"Well, you see..." Andie looked at him with a sad look. "Surly's really not stealing for the good, though. He's actually the park cri-"

"Andie! Where are you my darling?" A voice called over, much to Todd's confusion and Andie's annoyance. Apparently, that voice came from Grayson as he came over with a smile on his face.

"What is it now, Grayson?" Andie asked.

"Just wanna come over and ask you something very important." Grayson said seriously before blushing a bit with a smile on his face. "I was wondering if you would like to go on a date tomorrow, or maybe the night after that?"

"Sorry Grayson, but I can't." Andie shook her head, not wanting to be put up with him again.

"Oh come on, it'll be just you and me." Grayson said, putting his arm around her. "Maybe you can change your mind tomorrow and reconsider it."

Grayson then walked off, muttering about the date and his love to Andie. Todd just stood there, his eyes widened and sweat-dropped.

"Riiiight..." Todd said before shaking his head, trying to forget that scene before turning to Andie with a grin on his face. "So, what were you saying Andie? That Surly's the park crime fighter or something? That'd be even better."

Andie sighed as she shook her head and said "I'm sorry, but no. What I was going to tell you was that right now, Surly and Buddy are the par-"

"Andie!" Raccoon's voice called over. "I need for something! It's very important!"

Andie let out a sigh of frustration before turning back to Todd and said "I'm sorry Todd, but I have to go. You may want to see Raccoon later so that you can find a place sleep at."

"I see, okay." Todd nodded with a grin.

"Also..." Andie looked at him with concern. "Please, do not go and meet with Surly and Buddy, just to let you know." With that, Andie took her leave, hurrying back to Raccoon.

Todd blinked in surprise before wondering something. "Wonder why Andie doesn't want me to meet with Surly? I mean, I'm sure he's an awesome thief like Sly Cooper and Robin Hood. I mean, almost every thief I've ever seen in video games and TV Shows are heroes but work on the other side of the law, right?"

With that, Todd's first day in Liberty Park came to an end, and while he promised Andie not to meet up with Surly and Buddy, he was secretly planning on meeting them tomorrow morning. He knows that they might still be good rodents while unaware that they're actually the park criminals, which was something Andie was trying to say.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Kokichi is seen walking on the sidewalk, and seeing no humans around, walks into a phone booth and climbs up to the phone machine. He takes out a quarter out of his fur and puts it into the slot before taking out the phone from the booth. It was quite hard for him to pick it up, but he was able to put it top of the machine with him before pushing a random phone number on the booth and once he was done, he immediately climbed up to the machine and waits for someone to pick up the phone while he was trying to catch his breath.

"Dang it...why couldn't I just went over to the restaurant and talk to Thing#1 and Thing#2 about this?...Oh wait, I'm frigging lazy." Kokichi chuckled until someone finally picked it up.

Kokichi put his head over the phone and said "Hey, it's me!...Yeah, I finally met up with the boy, and let me tell you, he's quite fun to mess and hang out with...Yep, I think everything is going according to plan. I have a sneaking suspicion that he might meet up with you-know-who, and might help him out of his past...Though, I'm surprised that you used that fortune to turn him into a squirrel. It's been quite a long time since you used it on...you know."

Kokichi sighed sadly and waited for a reply until he spoke up. "Yeah, this is my second time meeting with someone who got turned into a squirrel, except for...well, actually, let's not bring that up. Don't wanna spoil the viewers out there to know it...yet."

Kokichi looked off-screen with a wink before waiting for a reply from the phone. "Well anyway, guess I'll take my leave. See ya Wong."

The phone soon turned off as Kokichi sighed and shook his head before letting out a smile. "Alright Toddy and Surly, let's see how you two can get along and work together to break out of your pasts."

Suddenly, the door of the phone booth opened, revealing a working business man as he tried to entered until he noticed Kokichi and let out a scream. Kokichi immediately ran out of the phone booth and ran back to the park.

"Well, didn't see that coming!" Kokichi exclaimed before retreating back to Liberty Park.

 ** _To Be Continued_**

* * *

 _ **It took a while but I was able to finish in time. Well, stay tune for the next chapter. Bye-onara!**_


	5. Chapter 4 - An Unfortunate Turnabout!

_**Note: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfic. The Nut Job and the Nut Job 2 belongs to Toonbox Entertainment, and all characters belong to their respective creators, but the OC's in this story belong to me and Dusk19. Please support the official release of the Nut Job 3 and its series.**_

"Please, I'm begging you!"

On the next day, Alexa headed to the Oakton City's police station as she was unable to find her son and grew extremely worried. He searched all over the place, even the hotel room that they were staying in, but no luck.

"Ma'am, please calm down! Just tell us what's going on." The police officer said, trying to calm Alexa.

"R-right...excuse my outburst." Alexa sighed before clearing her throat. "Anyway, I'm trying to look for my son. His name is Todd Lloyd, and he's thirteen years old, still in middle school."

"I see...do you have a photo of your son?"

"Y-yes, here!" She took out a photo of Todd and showed it to the officer as he took the photo and inspected it.

"Hmm...well don't worry ma'am, we promise that we'll do everything in our power to find him." The officer said, cheering Alexa a little bit.

"T-thank you so much! Just please find him! I'm begging you!" Alexa exclaimed in worried.

"Y-yes ma'am! Just stay here in the station and we'll bring you news in case we found any leads in order to search for him." The officer assured before he took his leave before handing the photo back to Alexa. Alexa clutch on the photo of Todd and let out a tear.

"Oh Todd...how did this happen?" She asked herself. "W-what...went wrong?"

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Back at Liberty Park, while the kids are enjoying playing around the place, they didn't noticed a red bird flying towards the big tree, where Raccoon and all the other park animals were storing their food for the winter. Unfortunately, they were throwing away dirty and food found from the garbage.

"Come along! Please keep that food coming, everyone! All finds are valuable." Raccoon said as he took the food from the animals and threw them into the grand Oak Tree, a really big oak tree that sits in the center of Liberty Park. While in the process, Raccoon dunk his head through the tree, seeing Mole sorting out the food.

"Mole, what is our food level now?" Raccoon asked curiously.

"Pickings are slim this year." Mole replied dryly, much to Raccoon's surprise. Raccoon began chuckling nervously as he turned to his fellow park animals with a sheepish smile.

"I-I'm sure we could rephrase..." Raccoon said, looking at the sad and grim looks on everyone's faces.

"We're at starvation levels!" Mole exclaimed, shocking everyone.

"We're all gonna die!" A mice shouted in fear, surprising everyone.

"Now, now, now..." Raccoon assured. "Have optimism, brethren. Stiff upper lip, everyone." Soon, his little bird assistant, Cardinal, came back with something in its mouth. "Ah! Here we are, food!" He picked the something out of Cardinal's mouth, much to everyone's joy, but unfortunately, it was nothing more than a nut bolt.

"I'm afraid this is the wrong kind of nut." Raccoon said before looking around to make sure no one was looking. "Hmm...shiny." Raccoon quickly hid the nut bolt into his fur as Cardinal started chirping about...something. "What's that?" Raccoon listened to what his bird friend spoke about and slightly widened his eyes. "A Nut cart?"

"A Nut cart?!" The mice from earlier repeated, brightened everyone's smiles.

"A Nut cart?" Mole asked, coming out of the hole until he was immediately blinded by the sunlight, causing him to fall back into the tree. "MY EYES!"

Ignoring him, Raccoon continued "This could be our salvation for winter..."

Everyone immediately agreed with their leader as he turned to Andie, who was helping some little chipmunk.

"Andie!" Raccoon called, gaining her attention. She overheard the conversation as she let out a confident smile and said "I'm on my way! You won't regret this!"

"Uh-uh-uh..." Raccoon stopped her, much to her confusion as he smiled and said "Grayson is going with you!"

Andie sighed and rolled her eyes and replied "With all due respect, sir, I can do this on my own. I don't..."

"Grayson!" Raccoon called for him, completely ignoring Andie. Grayson then appeared, standing in a heroic pose.

"Ole!" Grayson declared as all the females sighed happily and fainted at the sight of him. Grayson was known as Liberty Park's hero for a very long time, and everyone has always believed in him.

Grayson soon turned to Andie with a smirk and said "Chicks dig the tail!" He clicked his tongue as Andie let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, not happy to be partnered up with Grayson. Grayson had always had the hots for her since day one, and she tried multiple times to tell him to back off, but no matter how many times he was rejected by her, Grayson stubbornly tries to get Andie to like him back.

"Help Andie retrieve as many nuts as possible." Raccoon explained for raising his fist into the air and shouted "For the park!"

"For the park!" All the park animals, including Andie chanted.

"Oh...what she said." Grayson said, chuckling nervously as they were about to take off until Raccoon stopped him.

"Before you go...May I ask one question?" Raccoon asked.

"Sure sir, what is it?" Andie asked curiously.

"Have you two seen Todd anywhere? He was supposed to meet here for the food gathering." Raccoon said, completely realizing that Todd was nowhere to be seen.

"Actually, now that you mention it...No, we haven't seen him this morning." Andie replied.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the kid is a-okay!" Grayson assured with a grin.

"Well, has anyone here seen him? He's a fox squirrel, so you can't miss him." Raccoon asked the crowd, but everyone shook their heads, implying that they either not seen him or met this fox squirrel. Raccoon rubbed his chin in thought and began wondering where Todd could be.

"Where could that little squirrel have gone to?" Raccoon wondered aloud before making a stern look on his face. "I just hoped he isn't with...him."

"Raccoon?" Andie called for him, gaining his attention.

"O-oh right. Please go and scavenge the nuts from the nut cart and find Todd." Raccoon commanded, which both Grayson and Andie nodded.

"You got it, Raccoon." Andie nodded. "We won't let you down."

"And above all..." Raccoon spoke up again, gaining everyone's attention. "Keep a weary watchful eye out for...you-know-who..." Raccoon whispered, causing everyone to gasp in shock upon hearing who Raccoon is mentioning.

"NO! NOT HIM!" The mouse shrieked in fear.

"Yes...him." Raccoon said with a stern expression, knowing who 'him' is.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Somewhere on the west side of the park, a familiar fox squirrel is seen running on all fours, searching for Surly Squirrel and Buddy.

"Now where could they be?" Todd wondered.

"Where who could be, Toddy?" Todd turned around in surprise until he noticed who it is.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want Kokichi?"Todd asked, not in the mood to talk to him. Kokichi let out a sly grin and replied "Oh nothing, just wanted to see my 'best friend', and hang out with him? So what you doing, you silly nugget?"

"That's none of your business." Todd said, glaring at the albino squirrel, still mad at him for hiding the fortune away from him.

"Come on old Toddy, you can totally trust me! I'm a fun squirrel!" Kokichi said, laughing. Todd, however, continued to glare at him.

"Whatever...Now get out of here. I was just heading to...uh..." Todd began thinking on how to avoid Kokichi and his weirdness as he says "Go and do some...stuff."

With that, Todd ran past Kokichi as he made a sigh and frowned with a deadpan expression.

"Jeez, for a human kid, he doesn't know how to make good lies, and that's coming from me." Kokichi sighed before following after the fox squirrel.

As Todd began searching everywhere in search of Surly and Buddy, he soon caught gaze at a familiar purple squirrel and blue rat hanging out on a nearby tree near the wall outside of the park. Todd smiled happily, feeling excited that he's going to be meet his hero. He slowly came to the tree and rubbed his paws together.

"Alright Todd, you can do this..." Todd jumped onto the bark of the tree and began climbing it. It was quite easier, if you're a squirrel, that is. He began climbing up until he finally made it to the top and found the purple squirrel slowly letting the rope go as Todd noticed that Buddy was inside of a pail bucket being lowered down towards the nut cart.

"Umm...hi?" Todd waved at him, accidentally scaring the purple squirrel. Surly accidentally let go of the rope in his paws as Buddy was immediately dropped down into the nut cart. Luckily, he was still in the pail bucket as Buddy let out a sigh of relief.

"Whoops." Todd muttered, sweat-dropping. Surly turned to Todd, glaring at him angrily. Surly narrowed his eyes at him, recognizing the human-turned-fox squirrel.

"You again? What do you want, kid?" Surly asked sternly. "If you want nuts, you've come to the wrong squirrel."

Todd rubbed his head bashfully with a sheepish smile and replied "Hey, um...do you need any help? I'd be happy to lend a hand at what you two are doing."

"Take a hike, kid." Surly said. "I don't have time with you."

Surly then turns around and continues to do his heist while Todd became surprised and confused by this squirrel.

 _"Strange...he seems really determined in this heist it seems. But...why? Why does he sound like my dad? That's really strange. I haven't hear his voice is so..."_ Todd thought before making a determined expression. _"Oh well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I should help him in this heist! He's the park hero, after all."_

Todd cleared his throat before smiling towards Surly and said "Um, are you sure? I'm not here to stop you or anything. I'm Todd Lloyd. I'm new here to the park."

"I'm Surly Squirrel, and that down there's Buddy." Surly introduced himself and his partner-in-crime. "Now if you excuse me, I have nuts to steal."

"Oh, that sounds cool." Todd grinned. "Maybe I could-"

"What are you both doing?!" This time, both Surly and Todd got startled by a voice speaking up. Todd quickly turned around to see Andie, who was given a stern look at Todd.

"Todd, there you are!" Andie exclaimed.

"Oh, Andie! What are you doing here?!" Todd asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Andie replied. "You should be back at the food-storing tree with everyone else. And besides, I thought I had told you yesterday not to meet Surly and Buddy."

Todd grew hesitant about that, remembering what Andie told him yesterday. He rubbed his head bashfully and said "W-well...about that, uhh..."

"In fact, never mind. I'll deal with you later." Andie said sternly before turning to Surly. "For now, let me handle Surly."

Andie walked past Todd and walked towards Surly, who let out a sigh of annoyance and said "Oh great, so you're after this nut cart too, huh?"

"Of course I am!" Andie exclaimed. "The park needs it!"

"Well, too late, sister." Surly smirked as he began packing and taking some things out of a backpack made out of a card box. "Amscray...Buddy and I got here first, and I ain't sharing."

"Oh yes, you are." Andie said, glaring at the purple squirrel. "Fall's half over and the park's having the worst shortage in years. That nut cart...can feed everyone."

Surly gave her a deadpan expression as Andie continued "Hey, we'll work together. We can work out a deal."

"Uh...pass me that metal thingy, will you?" Surly asked, ignoring everything what Andie said. Andie realized this as she sighed sadly and did what Surly said as she handed him the metal pin that he asked.

"I-I just...I don't get it." Andie groaned. "You have all the drive and ability to help the park, but you never do. You know, this is a chance to prove Raccoon is wrong about you."

Surly stopped and formed a sadden look, remembering the bad and bullied childhood he had since living here in Liberty Park in his whole life. He then made an annoyed look at Andie and replied "I don't care what Raccoon thinks."

"Well then, do it for the park! Stop thinking about yourself all the time!" Andie exclaimed, trying her best to make Surly changed, but failed.

"Look...I'm independent, and that means...looking out for number#1." Surly said as he put the card box backpack behind him with a smirk on his face. "Got that?"

Andie formed a sad expression and sighed. "I feel sorry for you, Surly."

It seemed to got to Surly as he made a sad smile, and began having doubts about all this. Todd, meanwhile, smiled softly at them, knowing that Andie does indeed care about Surly and believes in him just like he does.

"Well well well...what do we have here?" Everyone widened their eyes in surprise as they looked around until they spotted a familiar albino squirrel up on a tree branch. He was sitting with his legs crossed and a smirk on his face as he said "Three little squirrels sitting on a tree. I understand what's going on, but you must know that two is a party, but three's a crowd."

"H-hey! What are you doing here?!" Todd exclaimed in shock.

Kokichi jumped down with a smirk on his face and replied "If you must know, Toddy, I followed you here. You can't outsmart a liar like myself. Besides...you're a terrible liar."

Todd blushed and glanced away, embarrassed not to admit it. "W-whatever...just get out of here!"

"Sorry, no sirree bob." Kokichi grinned.

"Great, not only I have to deal with Andie, but this crazy guy." Surly said in a deadpan expression. To make things even worse, they heard a 'Ole!' as Grayson landed between Surly, Andie, Todd, and Kokichi.

"Ah ha! Found him Andie!" Grayson exclaimed. "In...a...tree, no less!"

He leaned towards Surly and said "Very crafty Surly." Grayson chuckled before noticing Todd behind.

"AH! Todd Lloyd, there you are! Where have you been, mister? And what are you doing here with our unworthy opponent?!" Grayson asked before he gasped, making a guess before turning and glaring at Surly and said "Don't tell me...I bet Surly must have kidnapped you, and he's forcing you to help with his dirty work!"

This made everyone all stare at the grey squirrel with deadpanned expressions.

"Wow...seriously?" Surly asked, raising a brow.

"No, Grayson. He didn't kidnap me. I just...came over to him by myself. That's all." Todd explained.

"Yes, he did...which he shouldn't." Andie said as she gives Todd a stern look with her arms crossed, making him rub his head bashfully with a sweat-drop.

"Oh...well, never mind then." Grayson twiddled his fingers, feeling embarrassed.

"Wow...still as stupid as ever, eh Gayson?" Kokichi said blankly, slightly offending Grayson.

"Hey!" Grayson exclaimed angrily, which he didn't noticed Todd chuckling at that nickname Kokichi gave him. "A-anyway! You!" He pointed at Surly with a serious expression. "I shall now arrest with the park's nut cart caper!"

"I-it's okay, Grayson. I got him." Andie assured.

"Nah, Grayson. She doesn't." Surly said with a sly smirk on his face. "You better help her.:

"Why you! I'm gonna!..." Andie felt offended by that as she was about to pounce at the purple squirrel until Grayson held her back.

"H-hey! Sugar Ray, take the gloves off!" Grayson said with a smile on his face.

"I'm just gonna rip your tail off!" Andie said, gritting her teeth. Todd blinked in confusion at this, wondering why Andie felt offended by that joke Surly made.

"Ha, that's what she said." Kokchi said, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Listen, I'd love to keep chatting..." Everyone turned to Surly as he was strapped with rope on his card box backpack. "But I got a take with destiny."

"Destiny? Do I know her?" Grayson asked curiously, resulting Kokichi to face-pawed himself.

"How did your parents teach you these things?" Kokichi muttered to himself.

"Buena suerte, chumps!" Surly said before jumping off the branch and lowered himself down towards the nut cart. Everyone watched with him go as Grayson said "That was thrilling!"

Andie glared at him before elbowing him on the gut, much to his surprise. "OW!...That was painful..." Grayson groaned as Andie looked down and sighed.

"This is going to end up bad..." Andie sighed before saying "Look Todd, I think it's best if you head back to Raccoon and the others."

As Andie turned around, she noticed that he was gone, along with Kokichi. "Wait...where did they go?" Both Andie and Grayson looked around in worried before looking down and noticed that both the fox squirrel and the albino squirrel sliding down on the rope Surly was using and were heading towards them.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Andie sighed in frustration.

Meanwhile, with Todd and Kokichi as the two were sliding down and jumped on the ground and found Surly coming out of the nut cart, with a bag of nuts tied behind his back.

"Umm...Surly?" Todd called for him, catching him by surprise.

"What the?" Surly turned around before making a deadpan expression to see both Kokichi and Todd. "Oh...it's you two. Now what do you want? I told you to leave me alone and mind your own business, kid. Especially you, Kokichi."

"Ahh, thanks for the nice compliment Surly." Kokichi chuckled.

"That wasn't even a compliment!" Surly exclaimed before taking a deep breath and glaring at them. "Look, stay out of my way!"

"Look Surly, I know you and Buddy might think you two don't need help, but I can help!" Todd said with a smile.

Surly became annoyed with him and replied "Oh please. Why, you of all rodents in the park even want to help me?"

"And why didn't you include me in this conversation? I'm supposed to be a main character in this." Kokichi complained.

"Because one, you're annoying Kokichi and I don't know what you're talking about, you weirdo." Todd replied, glaring at the albino squirrel, who was sulking at that answer.

"Jeez...some friend you are." Kokichi muttered, crossing his arms.

"And two..." Todd turned back to Surly with a smile on his face. "Because I really admire adventurous thieves like you!"

"Oh really?" Surly asked in disbelief.

"Yeah...to be honest, you sound like someone I had before and looked up to yet lost..." Todd sighed sadly, remembering his father's death.

"Oh...is that so?" Surly asked, raising a brow and making a little smirk on his face. Unbeknownst to them, Buddy was overhearing their conversation and began secretly sympathizing with Todd, feeling sorry for the poor fox squirrel.

"B-but anyway..." Todd cleared his throat and softly smiled at the purple squirrel. "Okay, you and Buddy may be...rivals with Andie and Grayson, but we can all work this out, can we? After all, Andie really cares about you despite...how she reacted to your joke earlier."

"Tell that to her..." Kokichi rolled her eyes. Todd ignored her as he continued "She believes in you too, just like I do. That has to mean something to you, right?"

Surly glanced away, began having doubts in his heart. However, he pushed those doubts away and made an angry and stern look. "Look kid, I don't need your help and I want you to stay out my business and...d-d-d-d-d..."

"What? What's wrong?" Todd asked, raising a brow. Unbeknownst to them, a pug was behind them, snarling at the sight of the three squirrels.

"D-d-d-d...dog..." Surly muttered with widened eyes.

"Dog? What dog? Oh wait, are you talking about the song 'Who Let The Dogs Out'? I love that song!" Kokichi exclaimed.

Suddenly, they heard the snarling as Todd and Kokichi widened their eyes and slowly turned around, seeing the dog right in front of them.

"Oh...no." Todd muttered as the dog pounced at them. Luckily, Todd dodged that as he, Surly, and Kokichi immediately ran away and went underneath the nut cart. As they tried to sneak out of it, the dog got in the way of their only exit as she continued to bark at them.

Surly, with an annoyed expression, grabbed a wire and made the dog eat it.

"Bon apptit!" Surly shouted as the dog took a bite of it, causing some helium to be sucked by Precious as she backed away a little from it. That's when she noticed Buddy on top of the nut cart, who was giving her a raspberry, much to the dog's annoyance. The pug jumped and tried to attack Buddy, but he dodged it, and instead, the dog hit the lever that made the nut cart stay in its position. Soon, the nut cart started moving on its own and began sliding through the sidewalk.

While Buddy was holding onto something from all the shaking, Surly, Todd, and Kokichi came back up to the nut cart with confused and surprised expressions.

"Uh oh..." Surly muttered in shock.

"Oh...crap-baskets." Kokichi muttered.

Soon, Andie noticed the runaway nut cart as she brightened her smile and exclaimed "Nuts!"

She immediately jumped off the tree branch while Grayson looked at her in amazement and shouted "What a woman!"

Andie ran on the wall and began running on it, trying to catch up to the nut cart. She finally jumped onto the nut cart, noticing both Todd and Kokichi with feared expression.

"Todd! Kokichi!" Andie called for them.

"Andie! Quick, stop this crazy thing!" Todd exclaimed. Andie nodded before she and the others noticed that Surly was putting many nuts inside of his mouth, much to Andie's annoyance and Todd's confusion. Andie then noticed the pail bucket and quickly grabbed it and threw it on a nearby pedestal and caused the nut cart to make a quick U-turn.

Buddy nearly fell over, but luckily, Todd saved and helped him up.

"You okay?" Todd asked in concern. Buddy smiled at the fox squirrel and nodded happily.

"PFFT! PFFT! PFT PFFFT!" They turned to Surly, whose face was covered in nuts, making them unable to hear what he was saying. Surly, realizing that they didn't understand, spit out all the nuts in his mouth and said "That just cost you ten percent!"

"Uh...hate to be the breaker of bad news, which I'm totally fine with that, but..." Kokichi pointed his finger at a nearby cliff, much to everyone's shock. The nut cart immediately made a stop, causing it not to go over the cliff. As everyone let out a sigh of relief, a familiar hero came by.

"Ole!" Grayson landed on the middle of the nut cart with a grin on his face and said "Did I save the day?"

"No...you just caused us to our doom, you stupid idiot." Kokichi said blankly before the nut cart came crashing down to the ground. Luckily, the cliff wasn't that steep, but it caused great damage to the nut cart as smoke began to pour out of it.

Andie, Grayson, and Todd regain consciousness while Kokichi got up, feeling dizzy from the crash.

"Grayson? Todd? Kokichi, are you three alright?" Andie asked, getting back up.

"That depends...do we look okay to you?" Kokichi asked, his eyes swirling until he put two of his paws on his head, causing the dizziness to stop, much to his relief. "Ahh...much better."

"Okay guys, grab as many nuts as you can." Andie said, grabbing a few nuts until she started sniffing something in the air. "Hey...what's that smell?"

"That's my cologne!" Grayson exclaimed with pure confidence. "Made from tree sap and falcon tears."

"Really? No wonder why you smell like a yak using the bathroom." Kokichi said bluntly with a sly grin, ignoring Grayson's shocked and angered look.

"Anyway..." Todd glared at the albino squirrel before smelling something burning. "Yeah, it smells like..smoke."

"Back, I say!" Everyone immediately turned around to find Surly holding a torch in his paws.

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch the tail!" Grayson backed away, hiding behind Andie's back. "It's flammable here."

"Well...that's new." Kokichi said, looking at Grayson with a slightly shock expression before turning back to Surly and said "So what? You're going to burn us alive or something?"

"I said back away! These nuts...are ours!" Surly exclaimed, accidentally knocking Buddy out. "Huh?" He looked back, seeing his unconscious friend before rephrasing "These nuts are mine!"

Todd looked between Andie, Grayson, Kokichi, and back at Surly. He became hesitant upon which side he should choose. Surly, or Andie? He began thinking that they're rivals, wanting to take credit on feeding the park. So...he finally made his decision.

Todd quickly ran towards Surly and stood next to him with a confident smirk on his face and said "Um...yeeeeeah. They're...his nuts! I mean, our nuts! Team Surly for the win!"

Andie and Grayson became shocked by the fox squirrel's decision.

"Well...I feel betray." Kokichi said with half-opened eyes.

"W-what?! Todd! What do you think you're doing?!" Andie exclaimed in anger and shock.

"I'm making the right choice, Andie!" Todd exclaimed. "I mean, I'm helping Surly deliver these nuts to the park! I mean, you guys have the same objective despite being rivals, right?"

"Wow...you seriously don't know?" Kokichi asked, much to Todd's confusion. Before anyone could respond, Surly cleared his throat and said "Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean having the same objective, kid? Who said I was helping the park?"

"W-what? What are you talking about?" Todd asked, feeling confused about this.

"Look! We'll discuss this later!" Andie said before turning to Surly with a pleading look on her face. "Look Surly, we can negotiate!"

"Yeah, that sounds fair! How about...one hundred me? Zero for you!" Surly replied, accidentally lighting up a loose wire, the same one that the dog from earlier bite upon.

"Well...we're all going to die..." Kokichi muttered, much to everyone's confusion. That's when they started to hear a sound as they turned and looked behind Surly to see the propane tank shaking violently until...

BOOM!

They were blasted away in the nut cart as they tried hanging on tight from the velocity the nut cart was giving.

"This is terrifying yet amazing!" Todd exclaimed in joy.

"You think this ride is awesome?" Kokichi questioned with a smirk on his face before turning off-screen with tickets in his hands. "Then you should try the rides at Six Flags Great Adventure! Their rides are more terrifying and awesome than ever! HA HA HA HA!"

"Quick, we need to find a way to stop this thing!" Andie yelled, ignoring Kokichi's craziness.

Grayson put on a determined look and said "Follow I!"

He quickly got to the propane tank and attempted to switch it off by turning the handle. However, he had a hard time trying to turn it.

"Surly! Come help man!" Grayson demanded. Surly looked at him with a surprised expression before looking back at the bag of nuts. Surly became hesitant on which to choose while Todd looked at him with a soft smile, hoping that he might make the right choice. Unfortunately, his hopes was shattered as Surly chose the bag of nuts over helping Grayson.

"What the?! Curse you Surly!" Grayson exclaimed angrily. Surly let out a laughter before jumping off the nut cart and jumping safely on a nearby bridge. Andie looked back and glared at him angrily, shouting "Surly, you coward!"

This confused and surprised Todd even more. Why would Surly choose the bag of nuts over helping them out? Does he even care about their safety or taking the credit for himself? Suddenly, his thoughts were cut-off as he was knocked off by a pigeon, knocking him off the nut cart.

"Todd!" Andie exclaimed in shock.

"Squirrel overboard!" Grayson added.

"Oh for the love of...guess I got no choice. Sayonara suckers." Kokichi jumped off the nut cart and rolled on the floor, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness before making his way towards Todd. Todd was laying on the ground, nearly unconscious from the hit. "Hey...you alright?"

Todd soon opened his eyes and saw Kokichi with a big smile on his face. "Huh? What the?!"

"You got knocked out by one of those pigeons. But the important thing is that you're okay. Trust me, I know what its like to get hit in the face with a pigeon." Kokichi grinned and chuckled.

"...I'm not going to begin to ask how did that happen..." Todd said with widened eyes before looking around, seeing that he's on the ground and not on the nut cart. "But what happened? Where's Surly, Andie, Buddy, and Grayson?"

"Oh...right, about that-"

 _ **BOOOM!**_

Immediately, both Todd and Kokichi turned around to see the Grand Oak Tree blowing up. The only tree that was being stored of food for winter.

"Oh...crap-baskets..." Kokichi muttered in shock.

"This can't be good..." Todd agreed with widened eyes.

Kokichi began panicking as he exclaimed "This is bad! This is extremely bad! We need to get out of here before the animals here might assume that we might've been involved in all of this!"

"But we have been involved in all this." Todd said in a deadpan expression.

"Whatever! We need to get out of here, you idiot!" Kokichi exclaimed. "Because I swear, if you get me in trouble as well...then I'm moving to Mexico!"

"Mexico?!" Todd exclaimed in shock. "Hold on, what about you being my guide for self-discovery and all that?"

"...Oh..." Kokichi muttered, remembering that. "I totally forgotten about that..."

Todd face-pawed himself, getting a headache from talking to this guy. This squirrel is too crazy and just loves spouting nonsense. Soon, two shadows loomed over Todd and Kokichi, which made them looked up and saw it was Jimmy and Johnny, who were glaring down at them, and what's worse was that they held Surly by the arms.

"Umm...hey there..." Todd sheepishly smiled and waved at them nervously before whispering "Kokichi, do something!"

That's when he noticed Kokichi wasn't near him as he was smooth-talking with Jamie, who was also glaring at both the fox and albino squirrel.

"Hey Miss Jamie. I'm sure this was all a misunderstanding! See, Toddy here was messing with that purple thief and I was trying to stop them. I'm sure we can forget all this with a date tonight? What do you say, Miss Jamie?" Kokichi wiggled his brows. Unfortunately, his attempts to smooth-talked Jamie became futile as he was punched in the gut by her, causing Kokichi to fall on the ground while clutching onto his stomach.

"Okay...maybe I deserve that." Kokichi muttered before being held by the tail by Johnny.

"Some friend you are..." Todd muttered before looking back at the Bruisers with a nervous smile. "Heh heh heh...can we talk about this?"

Unfortunately, Jimmy grabbed him by the tail and carried them towards what was called the Grand Oak Tree.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Everyone looked upon at the destroyed Grand Oak Tree, and what's worse was that all their food that they stored up was all gone. All that hard work...for nothing.

"Grayson?...Grayson!" Mole called as he and Raccoon stepped in front of the crowd in shock and sadness. "Where are you?!" Mole shouted, trying to find him.

"...What happened here?" Raccoon asked, forming an angered expression. A little chipmunk showed him a burned nut, which made him ticked off as he crushed it with his paws and looked a the crowd with an angered expression, shouting "Who's responsible for this?!"

"Hey! Let me go, you clowns!" Everyone turned around and became shocked to see Surly being held against his will by the Bruisers as Johnny and Jimmy glared at him while holding him by both of his arms. "You're making a big mistake! I have an alibi! I got witnesses!"

The Bruisers threw him into the air, landing on the hard ground.

"Found him hiding in one of our holes, just like a snake!" Jimmy said, glaring at him. Everyone glared at Surly as he immediately got up and said "I-I was looking for bury nuts! Yeah, that's what I was-"

He stopped as he started to smell smoke. "Hey, do you guys smell that? It's like burned nuts or something, is that me? What's going on..." Surly turned and widened his eyes upon seeing the burned up tree, and he began laughing. "Ha ha ha ha! Look at that! You guys are messed up for winter, man!"

Everyone glared angrily at Surly for not even caring that he destroyed the Grand Oak Tree as he continued "I mean, wow! Just look at this bond fire! You all didn't see that one coming, eh?"

Suddenly, they heard some screaming as Grayson landed on top of Surly, much to everyone's shock.

"Never fear! This sweet bod is undamaged!" Grayson exclaimed before falling flat on his face.

"And that's not all sir!" Johnny said as he and his sister, Jamie, held and revealed both Todd and Kokichi in front of everyone by their tails. "We also caught the new guy and Kokichi here trying to work with the troublemaker!"

"Ow! Not by the tail! It kinda hurts!" Todd exclaimed as he felt a bit of pain from the Bruisers holding him by the tail.

Everyone, including Raccoon but except Andie and Grayson, who of course is in a daze from the explosion, is mad and upset with Todd for trying to work with Surly, even Kokichi was in it.

"Hey! Watch it now writer! You better rephrase that or else!" Kokichi threatened, looking off-screen.

"Who are you even talking to?!" Todd asked angrily before noticing Raccoon coming towards them with a stern disappointed look on his face. Todd became hesitant on what to tell Raccoon while Kokichi grinned and said "So now what? We're so boned, aren't we?"

"Kokichi!" Todd glared at him before sighing in defeat and look at Raccoon with a sad look. "I'm sorry Raccoon, I didn't-"

"Save the apologies for after your punishment, Lloyd." Raccoon said sternly, interrupting Todd's apology. Todd sighed and looked down in depression, feeling bad to have cause all this.

"Raccoon, please! Don't take this on Todd and Kokichi!" Andie begged.

"Don't bother trying to defend me, tuts. I always love taking these punishments of his." Kokichi smirked, ignoring the glare Andie and Todd were giving him. Andie sighed before looking back at Raccoon with a pleading look as she continued "Please Raccoon, it's my fault that I didn't tell Todd the truth about Surly! So let me organize the trial, and take the punishment myself!"

"Another trial?!" A pigeon asked, looking at Andie like she was crazy. "He never learns!"

"He needs something more severe!" Johnny said, cracking his knuckles.

"He's a clear and vile danger to this park!" Jamie exclaimed, agreeing with her brother.

"Yolk..." Surly muttered, still unconscious.

"No! No! We do things by the rule of law! Let justice take care of this!" Andie assured. Raccoon walked towards her with a serious expression and said "They want justice Andie, and justice they shall receive."

Andie let her ears dropped, feeling bad that Raccoon won't listen to her.

"Do I even say anything for defense? Man, I was so gonna go Ace Attorney for this trial!" Kokichi exclaimed, before being dropped on the ground, along with Todd.

"Okay...I'm so confused right now!" Todd got up and looked at everyone with a confused expression. "Just why are you all against Surly? And what truth is Andie talking about?"

Surly got back up, regaining his consciousness and looked at Todd with a raised brow, hearing his question. "Nobody told ya, huh new kid?" Surly asked.

"N-no?" Todd answered, hesitantly.

"Well...if you must know, Surly here is known as the park criminal of Liberty Park." Raccoon answered, shocking Todd.

"W-what?! He is?!" Todd asked in shock.

Andie sighed sadly and responded "Yes Todd, Surly really is a criminal. He's been known for his trouble making here in the park for years."

Todd jaw-dropped at this new revelation while the park animals nodded in agreement, and Surly shrugs as if it's true. Kokichi, on the other paw, was ignoring the scene as he was roasting a marshmallow, which everyone won't question how he got it.

"No...this can't be right." Todd said, not wanting to know the truth.

"I am sorry Lloyd if you had to know the truth." Raccoon said with a serious look on his face. "But you don't have to worry anymore, because I have a way to make sure we all live in peace once more."

"W-what?" Todd asked hesitantly.

"Oh no, I'm not liking where this is going." Kokichi shook his head.

Raccoon turned back to the park animals and announced "All in favor of banishment...raise your paws!"

"Banishment?!" Surly exclaimed.

"Banishment?!" Andie widened her eyes in shock.

"Banishment?!" Todd added.

"Bandages?!" Grayson asked, still daze from the explosion as he fell over and said "Yes, please."

"...Okay, can we get an ice pack for poor old Gayson here?" Kokichi asked, not hearing what Raccoon said.

Everyone looked at Raccoon, unsure about this decision. "Why are you hesitating? He's refused to join us, ridiculed our hard work." Raccoon said sternly. "Stolen, cheated, lied, and now destroyed our only food for winter."

Everyone began reminiscing the moments Surly ruined everything, even what he did today. Surly looked around, not amused by the looks of everyone they were giving.

"Let's say all!" Raccoon exclaimed, raising his paws in the air. Everyone did so, already agreeing with the voting.

"And stick them up!" Grayson exclaimed, accidentally raising his paws in the air as he let out a laughter before saying "Why is the ground moving towards my face?"

Grayson fell over, collapsing on the ground face flat...again.

"Seriously, is anyone gonna help him or what?" Kokichi asked again, which everyone ignored him.

"We don't vote without a trial, this isn't how we do things!" Andie exclaimed, not wanting to go through this. Mole wanted to say something, but dropped it.

"I have run out of options for that squirrel Andie." Raccoon put his paws on Andie's shoulder with a hard look he was giving to her. "Do what you will, do what is right."

Andie glancd away, feeling terrible about what she was gonna do.

"Come on Andie, don't do this." Todd muttered, not wanting the purple squirrel to be banish out of the park. That's when all his hopes were shattered upon seeing Andie slowly raised her paw into the air, much to Todd, and Surly's shock.

"...Meh." Kokichi waved it off.

"Andie...why?" Todd asked, his expression went pale upon seeing Andie vote for him.

Surly looked around, desperately hoping that no one else voted besides Todd and Kokichi until he noticed Buddy roasting a nut. Though, how did the rat get here after he was left behind back when the Nut Cart was blasted away, nobody knew the answer.

"Ha! U-uh...Buddy, has not voted." Surly said, with a weak grin. "And it has to be unanimous, that's the rules!" Surly looked at his best friend with a worried smile and continued "You wouldn't vote against me? Will you old bud?...Buddy?"

Surly managed to get his best friend's attention, but Buddy didn't hear anything from the entirety conversation as he unintentionally raised his paw in the air while he waved to Surly, who jaw-dropped at what have Buddy done.

"...You were saying?" Raccoon asked with raised brows. Andie looked at Surly, feeling terrible for not trying to stand up for him.

"God, you guys are so stupid." Kokichi said, biting his nails. "Oh come on! He didn't even hear anything, so his vote doesn't even count! God, you animals are so stupid! I mean, I feel like this is some sort of violation to the rules to even vote him out without some trial."

"For once, Kokichi's right." Todd nodded in agreement, surprising and upsetting everyone, except for Andie and Grayson, who was still daze from the explosion.

"What?!" Johnny exclaimed in shock.

"No, not about you guys being stupid, I meant voted him out of this park." Todd said with a determined look on his face. "I refused to even do this on him! I won't vote for this, and Andie's right! We should give Surly another chance and I know that Surly didn't mean to destroy the Grand Oak Tree because it wasn't his intention!"

"Yeah, me neither. Don't involve me in anyway." Kokichi shrugged. "Besides, it sounds so boring..."

Raccoon sighed in annoyance before looking at Todd and Kokichi with a disappointed and stern look. "I don't care what you say Lloyd, and mostly from Kokichi."

"It's true, nobody bothers to listen to me." Kokichi grinned.

"We'll talk about you two later. In the meantime..." Raccoon turned to the Bruisers. "Johnny, Jimmy, Jamie! Bring both Todd and Kokichi back to the mill while we discussed their punishments."

"Wait what?" Kokichi asked before being grabbed by the tail by Johnny. "H-hey! What did I do?!"

"N-no! Dang it!" Todd exclaimed as he was also grabbed by the tail by Jimmy.

"Wait! Raccoon, don't do this!" Andie spoke up with a worried and sad look on her face. "Please, give Todd another chance! He didn't know that Surly was even the park criminal!"

"What about me?!" Kokichi waved his arms over and over, trying to gain their attention, but no luck.

"I don't want to hear it, Andie." Raccoon said sternly, causing Andie to widened her eyes in shock. "Bruisers, take them away!"

"Yes sir!" The Bruisers nodded before taking both Todd and Kokichi away to the mill.

"So is nobody gonna pay attention to me?!" Kokichi exclaimed in anger.

While everyone once again ignored Kokichi, Todd looked towards Surly and shouted "I'm sorry, Surly! I know I'm someone you've just met, but I know you really don't deserve this! You and Buddy have to trust me!"

Surly looked at him with shock, seeing how the fox squirrel cares for him. It makes him grow a but of trust in Todd, knowing that the fox squirrel believes in him even though they've just met.

Meanwhile, back with Todd and Kokichi. As they were being dragged to the mill, Todd began to feel guilty upon meeting Surly.

 _"Why? Why did this all have to happen? I just wanted to meet Surly because I thought he was a good thief. But...he had to act like a bad one. But I know he's different than what everyone says! I know he's a cool and awesome guy/thief! I just know it!"_ Todd thought before sighing sadly.

He had to face the facts that no matter how cool Surly seemed or even if his voice sounded like his father's, he can't avoid or silence the truth.

"Why am I even being punished here?!" Kokichi exclaimed. "Seriously, don't you idiots pay attention at all?"

He was immediately silenced by a punch in the gut by Jamie. "Ow...I deserve that as well."

 ** _To Be Continued_**

* * *

 ** _Phew...man, this chapter was so long to take! But I'm glad to finally finish it! What's going to happen to our fox squirrel friend and our thieving criminal/hero? Find out next time on My Father Figure, Surly Squirrel! Until then, bye-onara!_**


	6. Chapter 5 - A Night In The City!

_**Note: The Nut Job belongs to Toonbox Entertainment, and all characters belong to their respective creators, but the OC's in this story belong to me and Dusk19.**_

The Bruisers crawled through a big hole from the wall of the abandoned Mill as they dropped both Todd and Kokichi on the mill floor, making them sit.

"Ow." Kokichi complained, rubbing his butt.

"You two real goofed up." Johnny said, glaring at both Todd and Kokichi.

"Hey, you said it, not me. Plus, why am I a part of this again?" Kokichi wondered dryly.

"Shut up Kokichi!" Jamie exclaimed angrily before turning to Todd. "We can't believe it! You going to help Surly in his heist, destroy the Grand Oak Tree, and now we got no food to store for the winter!"

"Yeah! We thought you were an awesome kid, but now you go and help Surly! What were you thinking, kid?!" Jimmy demanded.

"Yeah! Why didn't you help Andie and Grayson stop Surly as well?!" Johnny added.

"Look, I didn't know that Surly was the bad guy, okay?" Todd answered, feeling irritated. "Besides, I just wanted to meet him, he looked like a cool gu...I mean, squirrel."

"Nice save..." Kokichi muttered with half-lidded eyes.

Todd ignores him and continues "I know that he really didn't mean to blow up the Grand Oak Tree at all. I'm sure there might be good in him though, right?"

"Of course not!" Jamie denies. "He never learns anything from his mistakes!"

"Exactly, all he ever does is just go goofed up something else and tries to ignore his actions!" Jimmy agreed.

"He's a dangerous squirrel that can't be trusted at all!" Johnny added, crossing his arms with a hard look.

"Oh please, I love messing around with everyone in the park, and you never kicked me out of the park!" Kokichi exclaimed before realizing something. "Wait...why am I even here?!"

"You're a whole different story, Kokichi!" Jimmy exclaimed angrily. "Besides, didn't we tell you to shut up?!"

"Well I'm just saying that I'm like Surly, and I should receive the banishment, right?"

"Yeah, but you don't count! You're like...the annoying prankster while Surly is the dangerous criminal!" Johnny retorted.

"Really? That doesn't make any sense!" Kokichi glared at them in annoyance.

"You don't make any sense!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Ahh, you're right Miss Jamie, I don't make sense." Kokichi said, smiling stupidly towards Jamie. While the Bruisers were arguing with Kokichi, Todd went quiet and began thinking about Surly. He knew that he wasn't always a bad squirrel, and secretly denies all the claims the Bruisers made, knowing that there's good inside of the purple squirrel.

 _"I know that Surly is a hero, and I know there's good in him like every thief characters. Besides, if Andie believes in him, then I should too."_ Todd thought with a determined look on his face.

Suddenly, he appeared before them. Raccoon, Liberty Park's leader, came through the big hole in the broken door of the Mill as he confronted Todd and Kokichi with a disappointed and serious look on his face.

"Johnny, Jimmy, Jamie, you may leave. I'll take of our guests." Raccoon demanded softly.

"Yes sir!" They saluted before taking their leave. Raccoon then faces both Todd and Kokichi and says "I am truly disappointed in you than I am myself, especially after you two didn't vote against Surly like everyone else did. Did my speech meant nothing to you? Surly Squirrel is a dangerous individual."

"Really? Dangerous?" Kokichi raised a brow. "I done tons of pranks, and you don't call me the 'dangerous' one?!"

Todd and Raccoon ignores him as Todd exclaimed "Look, I didn't know that he was the park criminal! Nobody told me about that! It was just an accident!"

"Really? You say destroying the Grand Oak Tree was merely an accident?!" Raccoon growled.

"Raccoon, please give Surly another chance. If I was a criminal like him, I would have been given another chance, and so, Surly deserves to have another try! Besides, destroying the Grand Oak Tree wasn't his intention at all!"

"He doesn't deserve it. If he didn't mean to destroy the Grand Oak Tree, then he should have none better like you." Raccoon pointed out, much to Todd's shock. "As Park Leader, I make all the rules and I decide the punishments for the criminals like Surly."

"Oh crap, that's what I call a sweet burn." Kokichi chuckled, before immediately shutting up from the glare Raccoon sent. "...I'll shut up for one second."

"But..." Todd's ears' dropped down in sadness. "All that Surly just wanted was food and to survive the winter, just like you guys..."

"That's enough out of you!." Raccoon yelled, which made Todd shut up. Todd didn't believe a single word that they say about Surly, he believes in him. He knows that Surly isn't that type of thief to not care for others. "Now, for your punishments-"

"Yeah about that...you can't give me the punishment." Kokichi chuckled with a devilish smile.

"Really? And why's that?" Raccoon asked, raising a brow at him.

"Well...how can you give out your punishment...if I'm not around?" Kokichi wiggled his brows before taking out a small white smoke bomb and threw it beneath his feet, smoke covering around him. As soon as the smoke was cleared, he was gone.

"What the?!" Todd exclaimed in shock.

"Why am I not surprise?" Raccoon sighed before turning to his red bird assistant, Cardinal. "Please go and find that fool, will ya?"

Cardinal nodded and flew into the air, searching for the albino squirrel. The moment Cardinal was gone, Raccoon turned back to Todd with a serious yet annoyed expression. "But as I was saying, Todd, as punishment for teaming up with Surly and helping him destroy of the Grand Oak Tree, you shall clean the entire park by picking up every single piece of popcorn scattered around the place due to the destruction of the Grand Oak Tree."

Todd jaw-dropped in shock from the punishment as he complained "But that could take all day and by the time I'm done, I'll be all out!"

"It's for your own good and now get to it now!" Raccoon demanded before taking his leave. Todd sadly had no choice but to do the punishment Raccoon forced him to do. As he exits out the mill through the hole, Kokichi was seen on the rooftop of the Mill, gazing to see Todd slowly walking out of the mill.

"Ha ha ha...Raccoon, you old loser. You giving out that kind of hard task to a kid like him. How many of your 'lies' are you gonna keep making up to get animals to respect you?" Kokichi chuckled before frowning. "But you know, that kid...he sorta reminds me of me...Nah!"

Kokichi waved it off, putting back his smile before jumping off the mill to mind his own business...

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

After Todd left the mill, he began picking up popcorn after popcorn. He started this off by where the Grand Oak Tree used to be. He managed to find a nearby toothpick and a small paper bag and used them to pick up the popcorn before sadly gazing at the burned stump of the Grand Oak Tree, along with police warning signs post around it, probably from the firefighters who stopped the fire.

 _"I really screwed up...was it really right to join and take Surly's side?...What am I saying?! Of course it was the right choice, who cares what they say?! I know that Surly is a good squirrel, I just need to keep believing in him to the end!"_ Todd thought with a soft smile on his face.

"Hey Todd..." Todd stopped thinking and turned to see Andie, who had a sad look on her face.

"Oh, hey Andie..." Todd waved back at her, but in a sad way. Andie rubbed her arm, feeling terrible for getting Todd into this mess. Before she could say anything, Todd spoke up and said "Listen, I'm so sorry for not listening to you! I should've taken your side and help stop Surly from stealing those nuts!"

"No Todd...I'm the one who should be apologizing." Andie assured with a sad sigh, much to Todd's confusion. "It's my fault that I didn't tell you that Surly was the park criminal. If I told you this before, then none of this would even happen."

"Yeah..." Todd nodded sadly before feeling confusion again. "So Andie, do you really care for Surly?"

"What? Of course I do!" Andie nodded, feeling surprise that Todd would ask something like that.

"Then why did you get offended by Surly's joke and you calling him a coward? It seems that you two have a rivalry against each other." Todd pointed out.

Andie nodded and answered "Like I said Todd, I really do care for Surly and I'm willing to do anything to be his friend!"

Todd raised a brow at her as she sighed and continued "You see, it's just that...it's very difficult to get along with him. I tried everything to become his friend, but no matter, he just keeps declining my offer."

Todd understood her and wanted to believe in her as well. Todd then softly smiled and responded "I know you can gain his trust and I trust you."

Andie felt heart-warmed by his words as she smiles towards the young fox squirrel, happy to hear that Todd cares and trusts her as well. Soon after, Todd continues to pick up some more popcorn on the floor, which Andie sadly asked "Raccoon's making you clean up Surly's mess as punishment, isn't he?"

"Yeah..." Todd nodded before becoming irritated. "It was supposed to be for me and Kokichi to do it, but he somehow disappeared from a smoke bomb. I mean, seriously, what is up with that squirrel?!"

"Well actually, nobody knows very much about Kokichi." Andie answered, much to Todd's surprise.

"What?!" Todd exclaimed.

"Well you see, back when me and Surly were kits, he came to the park with fear and shock in his eyes, like something terrible happened to him that completely traumatized him. He was even a little kit back then, but as he began enjoying himself living in the park, he began to show his true colors as a trouble-making prankster. He loves to joke around and can be quite...random..." Andie chuckled nervously.

"Random? Try insane..." Todd muttered while rolling his eyes.

"And none of the park animals never even bother to be his friend, and not because of his pranks, but because he wanted to be left alone." This statement caught Todd off-guard to hear. It was understandable that he can't get a friend due to how stupid and crazy he was, but Kokichi wanted to be left alone forever? What caused him to not have any friends with him? "But I don't know why, but it seems he's taking a mild interest in you Todd."

"In...me?" Todd asked in surprise.

"Well yeah. I mean, despite his many jokes and weirdness, he didn't leave your side until the end of the day. Besides, whenever I see Kokichi do his smiles around others, I couldn't help but see that despite his playfulness and stupidity, I can almost feel...his sadness and pain from the inside." Andie clarified.

"Pain and sadness..." Todd muttered. Is he...like Todd himself? Did something caused him to be left alone and not want to be with others?

"Well anyway, let's just stop talking and get to cleaning up this place." Andie said with a soft smile.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Todd asked in confusion.

"I'm helping you out in your punishment too!" Andie declared, much to Andie's shock. "It was my fault for not defending Surly and getting you in trouble, so I have to help you in some way."

Todd couldn't help but smile at her, happy to hear that she would help out. Unfortunately, a familiar old voice spoke up.

"I'm afraid you cannot Andie." Andie and Todd turned to see Raccoon slowly walking towards them, with Cardinal back in his arms as he showed a serious look on his face. "Leave Todd alone and let him do the punishment for himself."

Andie felt upset that Raccoon is gonna let Todd do this all on his own as she exclaimed "Raccoon, he's just a kit! He doesn't deserve this! It's too much work for someone like him!"

"Consider this punishment as discipline, like a chore he must do on his own." Raccoon stated. "Now come along Andie, I have something else for you to do."

Andie let out an irritated sigh as she looked back at Todd and said "I'm so sorry about this Todd. I promise that this will never happen again."

With that, Andie took her leave along with Raccoon. Todd sighed sadly before feeling angry at Raccoon as he continued picking up some popcorn.

 _"What's his problem?! If I gotten some help, this could've been a lot easier, and yet he had to dismissed Andie like that. For a Park Leader, he's such a cruel guy."_ Todd thought angrily as he continued to pick up some of the popcorn.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

It was finally nighttime, and Todd was still picking up and trashing pieces of popcorn like he was tasked to do. He was allowed to take short breaks including bathroom ones and eat throughout the time though. But the work was still overall overwhelming as he still had a long way to go.

Todd felt exhausted as he stopped, seeing that almost all the popcorn were gone.

"Man...what a day. I'm almost done, just several more popcorn and I'm finally done." Todd sighed, letting out a yawn. As he was about to go and finish up, he began hearing some rustling from the bushes. He slowly turned around in fear as he scared "W-who's there?..."

Todd was scared out of his wits as he was fearful what was hiding underneath those bushes. It was until a familiar blue rat appeared out of the bushes, which surprised Todd.

"What the? Buddy?" Todd asked with widened eyes. Buddy was glad to see Todd as he gave him a hug, which Todd accepted. After their hug ended, Todd asked "What are you doing here, Buddy?"

Buddy began making some gestures, which Todd had troubling understand.

"Umm...what?" Todd raised a brow at him. Buddy sighed and addressed him to follow him, which made Todd confuse and curious onto what Buddy is doing and why he wants him to follow him. "Well, I want to go but I'm afraid I can't. If Raccoon catches me not doing his punishment, I'm afraid he's gonna punish me more than picking up popcorn."

Buddy realized that he was right and was quite in a dilemma, wondering how he could make sure Raccoon doesn't catch Todd in trouble.

"Allow me, Toddy." Both Todd and Buddy turned around to see Kokichi walking towards with a smile on his face. "I'll make sure Raccoon doesn't suspect anything that you're gone. I'll tell him you went to use the bathroom and that I decided to do his punishment, since my punishment was gonna be this as well."

Todd raised a brow of suspicion as he asked "And why should I trust you?"

"Ha ha ha, oh don't worry Toddy. I promise." Kokichi chuckled. "Just follow Buddy and he'll take you to your destination."

Buddy and Todd became shocked to hear on what Kokichi said as Todd said "What?! So you know what Buddy said? Were you spying on us?"

"Well just a little bit, and I can understand what he means from those gestures from the rat." Kokichi answered. "But that's beside the point, now get going before old Racky will get over here and probably demands where are you."

Todd was still suspicious of him, but he had a good point. Buddy apparently needed him and it must be very important.

He sighed and said "Thanks, I guess Kokichi. Come on Buddy, let's get going!"

Buddy nodded and led Todd to where he wants to take him. Kokichi stood there and happily waved goodbye before sadly smiling and sighing.

"Oh Kokichi, what are you doing to yourself?" Kokichi asked himself with a light chuckle. "Covering someone? That's not your style, so why?..."

Kokichi thought for a while with a sad look before shaking his head, returning his usual smile. "Ha ha ha ha, oh who cares? Let's just clean up this mess before I possibly get scolded by Racky and his chrome dome of a bird...and why am I even talking to myself like the crazy squirrel I am?"

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

As Todd followed after Buddy, the rat took him out of the park and somewhere around the city. It was pretty late, and every kid knows that they're not allow to hang out in the nighttime since it was very dangerous to be out at night due to criminals or crazy people.

"Umm...Buddy?" Todd spoke up, feeling quite scared. "I really don't think it's okay to be exploring around the city at night time. My mom always tells me this kind of stuff whenever I head out in the afternoon."

Buddy didn't hear him as he was sniffing around the ground, and eventually, found a scent as he immediately ran.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Todd called as he ran after Buddy. Soon, Buddy led him to a nearby trashcan in some alleyway. Todd couldn't see that much, but decided to wait it out while Buddy goes near the trashcan, but needs to be careful in case something happens to him.

Buddy climbed up from the top of the fallen trashcan and peeked inside of it, and smiled, like he was happy to see someone again. Suddenly, Buddy is knocked back and fallen onto the concrete ground, much to Todd's shock. Suddenly, a shadowy figure runs out of the trashcan, seemingly looking shock as well, like he didn't mean to hit Buddy at all. Todd couldn't see who it was as it was way too dark to get a clear look on the rodent as he cautiously watched as the rodent tried to have Buddy wake up until he did one hard slap, which made Buddy immediately wake up and became happy to see who it was as he gave the rodent.

Todd cautiously walked over to the two, only to be surprised yet smile as the shadowy figure turned out to be Surly. _"It's Surly, and he's still okay!"_ Todd thought, felt overjoyed and relieved to see him okay.

"Oh man, it's good to have a..." Surly widened his eyes, realizing that he's going soft as he angrily pushed Buddy away from him. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?! Get off of me!"

Todd became shocked and confused to see Surly do something like that until he noticed that Todd was standing right over on the sidelines.

"Oh great, and just when I thought things couldn't get worse?" Surly said, annoyed to see Todd here. "What are you doing here kid?"

"Buddy brought me over, and apparently it seems that he wanted me to help him find you." Todd explained, which Buddy nods in agreement with a sweat-drop. "Besides, he doesn't want you to be alone out here, just like I don't."

"Pfft! Please, I can take care of myself! I want you two to go back to the park and don't come back!" Surly demanded as he pick up a can and threw it at them, making them dodge it by hiding into a broken potted plant. "It's dangerous out here, besides you two will get in my way! I don't need anyone..."

"Surly, wait!" Todd tried to go after him, but Buddy put a paw on his shoulder with a sad look and shook his head at the fox squirrel as if he was giving up hopelessly. Todd sighed as he couldn't understand why Surly was so serious, unwelcoming and...unfriendly.

 _"Why Surly? Why can't you let us be with you as your friends?...No, I mustn't let his words get to me! Surly is just lonely and needs a friend, and I'm that guy..er, Squirrel, to do the job!"_ Todd thought, forming a determined expression. He then let go of Buddy's paw and ran after Surly, catching up to him, leaving Buddy behind as he tried to talk to Surly.

"Surly wait!" Todd called, hearing the annoying sigh from the purple squirrel.

"Kid, I thought I told you to leave? What's that you don't get?" Surly asked, glancing at him with annoyance.

"Surly, wait. Can't we talk about this? All I just wanted was to be your frie-"

"Shh!" Surly said, wanting him to keep quiet as he heard something off a distance.

"W-what?" Todd asked with a confused look until Surly shushed him again as they both looked to see a bunch of shadows coming towards them, which they quickly identify what it was.

"Rats..." Surly muttered, narrowing his eyes. Todd widened his eyes and became horrified as he and Surly saw the city rats walking towards them.

"My god! N-Not them again!" Todd muttered in shock and fear as they both hid behind a trashcan. "What'll we do?!" Todd asked fearfully.

Surly rubbed his chin in thought before noticing a bunch of junk on the ground, which made him smile and snapped his fingers as he said "Don't worry. I got a plan!"

Soon after, Surly tells him his plan of disguising themselves as rats and to fool those city rats, which Todd agreed since they don't have enough time to come up with something else. Surly grabbed some of the junk and fixed both his and Todd's tail really think out like a rat's tail and put a small metal container on his nose and Todd's.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Todd whispered.

Surly nodded and responded "Just trust me on this, kid. Follow my lead."

As the city rats were coming closer towards the trashcan, where Todd and Surly were hiding, the two rodents came out and confronted the city rats in their rat disguises. The city rats raised brows at them before looking back at each other in confusion of these strange 'city rats'.

"You guys looking for those squirrels? Yeah, us too." Surly said, trying to act serious in front of them in his disguise.

"Y-yeah! They went that way! You guys better go after them before its too late!" Todd added, being hopeful that this plan would work. Unfortunately, their disguises fall apart, much to their surprise. The city rats smirked monstrously and glared at the two rodents. Todd became scared of them while Surly laughed nervously as he said "Heh heh...Oops."

"Hey boss! Look, it's that squirrel from yesterday!" One of the rats pointed out.

"Oh yeah! And he's not with that crazy white squirrel with the scarf, so that means..." The second rat licked his lips in delight.

"It's time for us to dine on our new meals at last!" The third rat declared as they glared towards at Todd and Surly.

"This is the part where we run, right?" Todd asked nervously.

"Yeah...Run!" Surly exclaimed as they ran for their lives from the city rats, who began chasing after them. They immediately climbed up a ladder and arrived to the rooftop of a building, where they hid behind a bird coop cage. As Todd and Surly were hiding from the city rats, they noticed the birds looking directly towards them.

"Look away! Look away!" Todd begged them, but unfortunately, the rats arrived, ready to devour the two rodents. Surly and Todd backed away in a corner as Surly nervously said "Come on, I'm cool with rats! My best friend is a rat!"

Suddenly, as one of the rats tried to pounce at them, a flower pot was thrown at them, hitting one of them on the head very hard. Todd and Surly looked up to see Buddy holding a flower pot in his paws, about to throw it at them again.

"Ha! See, there he is!" Surly exclaimed.

"Buddy! Thanks for the save!" Todd gave him a thumbs-up, which Buddy nodded as he threw another one at the rats, scaring them away. Buddy jumped off the ledge and let out a raspberry at them. Todd felt happy and glad that Buddy arrived and saved their lives, but it was short-lived though when the rats get a hold of Buddy. Todd widened his eyes in shock and shouted "Buddy!"

He ran towards him, ignoring Surly shouting "Kid, no!"

Todd tries to save Buddy as he charges at the city rats, kicking and pushing them as well as clinging onto the leader's back.

"Leave him alone!" Todd shouted angrily, trying to stop the leader, but the leader of the rat pack managed to get Todd off of him as he grabbed Todd by the tail and glared at him with a smirk.

"Well well well...if it isn't the little rodent from before?" The leader chuckled devilishly. "I guess you're back for more, eh? Well, we're gonna give you more! Come on boys, let's drop him and this rat off the ledge and show them who's boss!"

The rats nodded in agreement as they took both Todd and Buddy over to the edge of the building to throw them off. Todd struggles and cries out "Surly, help! SURLY!"

Surly hesitant, wondering what to do until he noticed the bird coop and opened it up, releasing the birds in the process. Surly grabbed ahold of one of the pigeon's legs' and grabbed both Todd and Buddy before they were thrown off the edge.

"Ha ha ha ha! Yes! We did it!" Surly cheered.

"Sayonara suckers!" Todd shouted as he laughed along with Surly and Buddy. Suddenly, the pigeon gotten tired from the weight it was carrying as it let the three go, making them fall to their doom.

"AHHHH!" They all screamed until they hit a glass window before falling to the ground safely. The city rats looked over to them, disappointed that they failed to kill them.

"Come on, let's go tell the boss!" The leader said as they scattered away. Todd, though, was relieved that they were safe from those rats as he sat up with a smile on his face.

"Whew! That was too close. Thanks for saving us back there, Surly...Surly?"

"No...I can't do this anymore! No food, no home, rat gang! We're gonna die out here, fellas!" Surly exclaimed in agony.

"Surly, calm down. We won't die. It's gonna be okay!" Todd assured.

"No, kid! It won't be okay! We really are gonna die out here!"

Todd then looked forward and gasped a little as he saw and stared at something that made his eyes widen in awe.

"Whoa..." Todd muttered in amazement.

"I don't know. Maybe they'll take me back..." Surly suggested.

"Surly?" Todd called for him.

"I'll do public service! I'll read to that blind wood chuck! I'll listen to Raccoon!"

"Surly?"

"I'll do anything! I'll do whatever it takes to-"

Todd grabbed and shook Surly by the shoulder, getting his attention as the fox squirrel pointed upward in front of them.

"Surly, look!"

Surly did indeed look and what he saw did surprise him as well as Buddy. It was none other than Maury's Nut Shop, and Todd recognized it and knew it'd be a good chance for survival.

"It's...It's Maury's Nut Shop. It's been a while since I've been here, but I've heard they have the most nuts in all of Oakton City. The best ones, too. I think we're in luck, Surly. We'll survive for sure!" Todd explained with a happy grin on his face.

"Ya dang right we will, kid!" Surly happily shouted as he got back up and saw Buddy dancing. Surly danced with him as well, then Todd joined in and laughed as he danced with the two as well. Soon, the celebration stops as Surly got into his serious expression and said "Alright! We get in, we stuff our bellies, but...we do it my way."

"Awesome!" Todd said in excitement. "Sounds like a plan."

Surly the narrowed his eyes at Todd before saying "Kid...you're not coming."

"Huh? How come?" Todd asked in confusion and shock.

"Look, I don't know why Buddy brought you along, but I made it clear this morning that I don't need your help and I told you to stay out of my business."

"But...I just wanted to tag along and help." Todd said sadly.

"You wanna help? Here's how. How 'bout you go back to the park and pretend none of this ever happened?" Surly guessed in a stern tone.

"But Surly-"

"GO! NOW!" Surly demanded, pointing at the other direction.

Todd sighed as he turned around and started to walk away. He just...couldn't understand Surly at all, and he was starting to think that maybe Surly wasn't such a good guy after all. Finding out that he was actually a park criminal was one thing, but him being arrogant and independent was definitely another thing he never expected.

 _"I just...don't get it. I always wanted to meet him since I first came to the park, but he just has to act so arrogant and independent for himself. He may sound like my dad, but at the same time, he doesn't act like that, and neither of my favorite thieving heroic characters that I love and admired in my entire life."_ Todd thought sadly.

Buddy still felt pity for the fox squirrel thought as he ran towards and caught up to him from leaving.

"Huh? Buddy? What is it now?" Todd asked curiously. Buddy stood by Todd's side and looked at Surly with a sad pleading look as if the rat wants Todd to stay with them. Todd became surprised about the speechless rat actually caring for him too unlike his purple partner-in-crime.

Surly, though, groaned grouchily in annoyance as he said "C'mon, Buddy. Seriously? Hasn't Raccoon punished him or he has a task to do or something?"

Todd realized that as he rubbed his arm in discomfort as he felt bad until he realized that Kokichi was backing him up. "Oh...right. That. But don't worry, Kokichi came by and said that he'll help me out."

Surly became surprised to hear that. "What? He helped you out? That's...weird."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Todd asked in confusion.

"Because earlier when I was hiding in that trashcan since I got nowhere else to go, he somehow found me and told me that you were doing the punishment of picking up every popcorn around the park, Raccoon's order." Surly explained. "Though, I asked him why he was telling me this, and he told me that he just wanted me to know and for his amusement. Just like that, he took off and disappeared."

Todd became confused to hear about this. Kokichi talked to Surly while Todd was doing his punishment, and yet, he came by and told him that he would finish Todd's punishment while he followed Buddy to find Surly? That seemed...really strange.

"But that's beside the point!" Surly exclaimed, getting back to the main topic. "Look Buddy, let him go home and so we can go and rob this nut shop."

Buddy, however, shook his head in disagreement as he didn't want the young fox squirrel to go back and continue his misery. Surly still didn't approve of the teen thought as he asked "For repeat sake, Buddy. Do we really have to babysit this squirt?"

Buddy nodded before looking at his purple friend with puppy eyes, begging him to to led Todd tag along. In defeat, Surly sighed with a grumpy caveman look as he groaned "Fine, whatever. He can stay with us...and help."

Both Todd and Buddy smiled happily as the fox squirrel said "Thanks, Surly. I promise you, you won't regret this!"

"Yeah. Sure, kid." Surly replied grumpily. _"I'm pretty sure I will..."_ He thought sarcastically.

Surly then cleared his throat and told him and Buddy as he explained "Anyways, we got a nut store to raid. So let's focus and get this show on the road."

Todd and Buddy nodded in agreement as they immediately got to work. They headed past a metal gate that leads to the side of the Nut Shop and planned their way to get inside the place.

Their first attempt was going inside one of the three metal pipes that might lead them inside the Nut Shop. Todd went in first and jumped into the first tube, only to get shot out to the gutters and landing on the ground, much to his disappointment. Surly went into the second tube, only to get launched out of it and hit the wall pretty hard, which made Todd and Buddy winced upon seeing him like that. Todd and Surly both went into the last tube, going into the sewers that leads them back outside through the manhole. As Surly and Todd tried to get their bearings, an incoming car came towards them, much to their shock. The car hit the manhole, causing them to be hit with it and fall back into the sewers.

Their second attempt was go through the walls by picking out every brick to make a hole. Surly threw some bricks at Buddy, who struggled to hold onto them. As Surly turned back around to go and finish the hole, he and Todd became shocked to see more bricks on the other side, much to their disappointment. As Surly hit his head on the brick wall out of frustration, a pile of bricks falls on top of his head, much to Todd's shock.

"Oooh..." Todd muttered while noticing Buddy coming towards him, almost ready to drop the bricks down. "GAH! Watch where you put them, Buddy!" Todd exclaimed, running away from being hit by the bricks Buddy is about to drop.

Their third attempt was to cut the power of the Nut Shop, in case it might have an intense security system, which might get them into trouble of entering and exiting out of the Nut Shop. As Surly found the power box and attempt to cut one of the wires, it short circuited and electrocuted Surly, much to Todd's shock, but Buddy didn't mind as he watched the lights blinked off and on over and over again.

Their fourth and final attempt was to launch Surly out of the tree towards the window of the Nut Shop, and attempt to open the door from the inside. Todd and Buddy pulled onto the branch of the tree, launching Surly out of it as he successfully made it inside, until Todd and Buddy hears a woman's scream, and saw Surly get shot out on another window and lands into a trashcan.

"Surly? Are you okay?!" Todd asked as he and Buddy looks down to check up on him, until they cringe upon seeing a metal pipe get stuck onto Surly's head.

"Do I look okay to ya, kid?" Surly asked grouchily.

"Uhh...no?" Todd chuckled nervously before he and Buddy looked away from him in hopes of not seeing his angry expression, even though his face was covered with a metal pipe.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Buddy attempted to open up a metal gate that leads inside of the Nut Shop, but it was shut tight as he struggled to open it.

"Here, let me try, Buddy." Todd offered as he tried opening it as well, but received the same results.

"Oh, that's not gonna work, step aside." Surly said, still has his head trapped inside of the metal pipe. Todd stepped aside and allowed Surly to look at the metal gate and tried to find a way to open it. Suddenly, both Todd and Buddy noticed that a taxi arriving, and a strange man wearing a black fedora coming out of the taxi while opening the door, letting out a stranger wearing a brown coat coming out of the taxi and headed inside of the front entrance. Buddy immediately went inside through the door before it closed. He looked around and saw two more people in the shop.

"Hey, looks who's here! It's the boss!" A man wearing a small hat exclaimed with joy.

"Fresh out of the smaller, huh?" The man wearing a blue suit said with a smile.

"How you doing, jailbird?"

"Hey, what's it been? Eight years? Seven years?"

The man took off his coat, revealing himself as none other than Percy K. Dimpleweed, a mob crime boss that was taken to the slammer for years until the day has finally arrived that he was out of jail for good.

"Here. Let me get your jacket." The man with the small hat offered. His name was Fingers, a man who seemed to work for King in the past, but quite...dimwitted.

"No, no, no. I shall get that." The man with the blue suit said, wanting to do it for himself. This was Lucky, another person who works for King, and known for his expertise of studying the blueprints of security system.

"It's fine. I got it." Lucky assured before letting out a grunt. "Just good to see you." He let out a whistle, signaling his pet pug, the same one that chased both Todd and Surly earlier. "Hey Precious! Come here! Say hi to the boss!"

The pug known as Precious walked over to say hi, but quickly left after seeing the intimidating look from King himself. Meanwhile, Buddy managed to open a small window that connects to the front door, and sees Todd finally getting the metal pipe out of Surly's head.

"There we go." Todd smiled.

"Thanks, I guess kid." Surly rubbed his head bashfully until they both heard a whistle coming from Buddy. Todd smiled happily to see Buddy finally found a way in as he and Surly climbed up to the window and onto the wooden ceiling while avoiding the sight of the four strangers from the inside. As Todd and Surly arrived to the ceiling, they noticed Buddy looking at something with awe. They looked at what Buddy was seeing as they saw a bunch of mousetraps, but had cheese on them.

"Whoa..." Todd muttered in amazement as he rubbed his aching stomach. He hardly ate anything due to having to do the punishment Raccoon tasked him to do. He and Buddy looked over to Surly, who shook his head and gestured to follow his lead. Todd nodded and began to help him and Buddy steal the cheese without triggering any of the traps.

It was simple and easy as Todd and Buddy just simply pulled the traps to the end while Surly grabbed the cheese. While they were doing this, Todd began overhearing what King and his men were talking about. They were talking about a bank heist at the Oakton City's National Bank, using some dynamite, digging through a giant hole in the basement, and tried to make sure nobody was getting suspicious of them.

 _"A heist?...Are they criminals like Surly? Hold on, I feel like I've seen that guy before."_ Todd thought, gazing at King as if he's seen him before. Unfortunately, while he became distracted, Surly picked up a cheese without noticing that neither Todd nor Buddy stopped it from triggering, causing the mousetrap to snapped at Surly's tail, causing him to hold his mouth in pain.

"Huh?!" Todd exclaimed, seeing the purple squirrel's tail trapped underneath the mousetrap. "Oh crap! Surly!" Todd ran towards him and picked up the trapped while he and Buddy tried to help him not scream.

"Kill the lights! Kill it!" King demanded, thinking it was a gunshot.

"Relax boss, it was probably just some rats." Lucky shrugged.

"Did you say...rats?..." King said, feeling a little scared.

"What? What's his problem?" Lucky asked, oblivious to know that King has a phobia of rats. Meanwhile, Buddy and Todd looked at Surly, pleading him not to scream.

"Surly? Please don't scream." Todd begged, which Surly nodded. Once both Buddy and Todd uncovered his mouth, Surly let out a scream in pain. Buddy immediately took the cheese out of his paws and shoved it in Surly's mouth in order to try and quiet him down. Todd helped out by soothingly petting his back while ignoring the barking coming out of Precious.

"It's okay Surly, calm down...just let the pain out. Let the pain be your friend..." Todd soothed, which immediately helped Surly calm down as he ate the cheese and swallowed it whole. He panted out of breath before turning back to Todd with a soft smile and says "Thanks for the help, kid."

"No problem, Surly. We make a pretty good team, the three of us." Todd smiled. That made the purple squirrel smile at him as he began to grow into him more and thinks he's not so bad after all, thought he doesn't show it as he remains in his serious expression.

 _"You know, this kid ain't half-bad. I don't know why, but he seems to really believe in me. But why? We barely know each other. I guess...maybe he could be a big help in this heist."_ Surly thought, hiding away a soft smile from Todd.

"Surly?" Todd called for him.

"H-huh? O-oh, uh...Yeah, let's continue getting these cheese for the night." Surly said, wanting to continue the raid. Todd and Buddy nodded as they continued to steal many of the cheese while avoiding many mouse traps. Soon after, Todd noticed the four men heading towards the basement, closing the door in the process. Todd kept wondering who that stranger was, but kept getting this familiar scent that he seen him before somewhere.

After stealing all the cheese and disarming all the mouse traps, they ate all of the cheese and decided to call it a night.

"Alright, let's rest up and do the raid in the morning, got it?" Surly asked with a stern look. Buddy nodded and saluted to him while Todd smiled and said "You got it Surly!"

"Good, well let's get some sleep." Surly let out a yawn before he, Buddy, and Todd immediately went to sleep by laying on the hard wooden support beams.

Todd didn't mind it, despite it being too uncomfortable. He let out a yawn and looked over to the two partner-in-crimes. "Goodnight Buddy, goodnight Surly."

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight kid." Surly yawned as the three went to sleep. As Todd began to sleep, he began thinking just how happy he is to work with Surly and Buddy. Now that he gains their trust, he can help raid this nut shop that can not only feed them, but everyone else back at the park for winter. But speaking about the park, he began wondering about Kokichi. He told Surly that he was busy doing his punishment of picking up all the popcorn around the park and Kokichi came by to Todd himself and said that he'll do the punishment while Todd follows Buddy in hopes of finding Surly and gaining his trust. Is it really a coincidence? Or...did he somehow planned this?

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Back at Liberty Park, Kokichi just finished up picking up the popcorn as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Man, that sure took about an half-hour to finish. I'm just glad that old Racky didn't find out." Kokichi wiped a sweat from his brow. "Oh well, nothing gets past old Kokichi 'Quick-Fingers' Squirrel...which by the way, I should work on my nicknames and make it a meme, but whatever..."

Kokichi immediately threw away his toothpick and began to take his leave until he noticed some park animals out on one of the entrances of Liberty Park. With curiosity, he walked over while seeing Grayson impressing his fans about how awesome he was by doing push-ups and such.

"Show off..." Kokichi rolled his eyes before noticing both Mole and Andie. "Why hello there Andie and Mole! What are you guys doing here at a time like this?"

Andie and Mole jumped out of surprise before realizing it was none other than Kokichi. "Oh, it's you. Raccoon was wondering where you've been." Mole said with a raised brow of suspicion.

"Who? Little old me? Nah, I was off busy minding my own business. By the way, just tell your boss over there that Todd finished his punishment." Kokichi chuckled, pointing over to Raccoon, who seems to be talking with Cardinal.

"Really? Wow, that was fast." Andie smiled before realizing something. "Wait, are you lying to me Kokichi?"

"What? Me? No way! I'm a fun guy! Why would I something like that?" Kokichi chuckled with a smirk on his face. Andie sighed and said "Well it doesn't matter, what matters is that I'm going out to the city to look for some food for the park while I travel with...Grayson..."

Kokichi saw the distaste she had with Grayson, not that Kokichi cares.

"Well, we barely have any food left for the park ever since the destruction of the Grand Oak Tree." Mole stated before handing Andie a back-pack made out of a card box. "Make that food last, it's all we can spare."

"Come on Grayson! Drop the purse, honey!" Johnny cheered as Grayson began doing more push-ups. "Oh yeah! Rope-a-dope!"

Grayson then began punching like he was boxing, even using Jimmy's stomach as a boxing dummy. "Alright, let's try cheek elasticity!"

"Yeah! Show them what you got Grayson!" A mice said as Grayson came over and was ready to test out his 'cheek elasticity'. The mice began stuffing rocks into Grayson's mouth, much to Grayson's pain, not that he showed it.

"Okay, that's disgusting and wrong." Kokichi said bluntly.

"Does Grayson really have to come with me?" Andie questioned, not eager to have him come with her. "I...think that hit on the head really messed him up."

"Raccoon thinks its good for moral." Mole pointed out as Raccoon looked back with a serious expression. Kokichi noticed it, smirking and waving at the leader, which he ignored him. "After all, Grayson is the park hero."

They looked back at Grayson, seeing his mouth is completely covered with rocks as he fell face flat like a statue.

"What a champ!" The mice cheered happily.

"Good luck my dear! Find food for us!" Mole cheered, panting Andie on the back. She became slightly irritated to work with Grayson...again as she went and picked him up, and forced him to spit out all the rocks out of her mouth. Kokichi silently snickered at her frustration. He wished that he could take a picture of this...if he had found a camera, that is. "Our hopes lies within you."

Kokichi watched them leave as everyone cheered for them while Kokichi sighed and rolled his eyes before taking his leave until he noticed Raccoon and Cardinal taking his leave.

"Oh hey Racky, where are you going?" Kokichi asked with a smirk.

Raccoon looked back at him and replied "I am simply going to bed, that's all. Though, I asked why do you want to know?"

Kokichi simply shrugged and responded "Just out of curiosity. I really want to get to know you Racky."

Raccoon looked at him with a raised brow before saying "...Very well then. Goodnight and please stay out of trouble."

With that, Raccoon and Cardinal took their leave while Kokichi simply let out an evil-looking smile.

 _"Oh Raccoon...why did you have to go and lie to me? I know that you've been deceiving and lying to everyone here. You may have gain everyone's trust for years, but you can't fool me. I know an animal or person on when they're lying. Nee-hee-hee...I wondered what you're hiding..."_ Kokichi thought with a smirk on his face. While everyone took their leave and went to sleep, Kokichi sneakily left through the entrance of the park, walking through the streets. While walking through the streets, he noticed both Grayson and Andie speaking with a city rat.

"Oh...I see what's he doing." Kokichi chuckled before grabbing a big rock and threw it at the city rat straight in the face.

"OW!" The rat winced in pain. Andie and Grayson looked back to see Kokichi waving at him.

"Kokichi?! What are you doing here?!" Andie exclaimed in shock.

"Just saving your life, duh." Kokichi shrugged with a smirk on his face.

"Hey! That's my thing!" Grayson whined until he noticed the city rat stealing Andie's backpack, much to her shock. "Hey! Give her pack that backpack! I mean, backpack! I-I-I mean...ugh! Forget it!" Grayson gave Andie a quick kiss on the paw before he went after the rat. Grayson climbed up the city lightpost, following after the thief. They both jumped off of it and began fighting and grappling each other for the backpack until they noticed a cable car coming heading straight for them.

"Oh no..." Kokichi muttered with widened eyes as he saw them disappeared once the cable car went past them. Andie let out a gasp until she saw both Grayson and the city rat on top of the cable car, still fighting each other. Andie sighed as she and Kokichi went after them.

Grayson managed to get the backpack from the city rat before punching him in the face. He then noticed Andie and Kokichi running towards them as he threw the backpack at them and shouted "No! Go on without me! Save the park!"

Those were his last words before he was gone for good, somewhere in Oakton City. Andie grabbed the bag and panting heavily, feeling afraid of being left alone. She leaves the park for like, five minutes, and now this is happening.

"Hey, if you're that scared, follow me. I know a place." Kokichi offered.

"R-really? You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?" Andie asked.

"Nah, I promise! Follow me!" Kokichi smirked as Andie had no choice but to follow Kokichi as he led her towards the alleyway. While walking, Kokichi put up a smirk, glancing towards at Andie.

 _"Wow...who would've thought that she lost that dunderhead for good like that? Oh well, I wonder how Toddy and Surly are doing. Thank myself for coming up with that plan for Toddy to go and meet up with Surly. I gotta give myself some credit for that. Though, I just hoped that they're not in danger or whatever. Besides that, it looks like all according to plan. A++ for you Kokichi Squirrel! Nee-hee-hee!"_ Kokichi thought, silently snickering to himself.

"Kokichi? What are you laughing about?" Andie questioned out of curiosity.

"Huh? Oh nothing...nothing at all..." Kokichi answered, glancing away while trying to look innocent as they continued to walk through the alleyway, disappearing along the way.

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	7. Chapter 6 - We Need A Team!

The sun began to raise up over Oakton City, and many people began doing their normal everyday business. Well, not everyone...or every squirrel. Meanwhile back in the Nut Shop, Surly, Todd, and Buddy were seen sleeping on the beams of the ceiling. Surly let out a yawn and started stretching his back, letting out a fart in the process.

"Ugh...Buddy, kid, I ate too much cheese..." Surly muttered, sleep-talking as he get letting out some gas in the process. "I think I'm gonna have a cheese baby..."

Todd soon began waking up while groaning in exhaustion, stretching his back a little. "Ugh...what time is it?" Todd wondered before noticing Surly slowly drifting off and falling off the beam and landing on the floor.

"Ah!" Todd gasped before turning to Buddy and began shaking him, waking him up. Buddy shook his head before turning to Todd as he exclaimed "Buddy! Hurry! Surly's in trouble!"

Buddy widens his eyes and looked over to the floor, seeing Surly peacefully sleeping on the ground. Before anyone could do something, they heard a door knocking as they saw Lucky headed over to the door and looks through the blinds as he let out a gasp and mutters "Well I'll be."

He soon opened the door, letting out a blonde woman in. Todd raised a brow, wondering who she was and saw King and Knuckles walking out of the basement. Knuckles noticed her and tried to pull out a gun from his jacket until King stopped him, having a shocked expression upon seeing her.

"Son of a gun..." King muttered, slowly smiling at him. "Lana..."

"Gee, Lana, you look swell." Lucky said with a soft smile.

"Lana, crazy dame." King chuckled, holding Lana's hands. "Hey, ain't you got a nickel to call first?"

"No need. Your ma told me where to find you, King." The blonde hair known as Lana replied, happy to see King. Todd titled his head, seeing them like this.

 _"I guess they know each other. If I had to guess, I say this guy is in love with that Lana girl."_ Todd thought before noticing that Surly was nowhere to be found on the floor. "Huh? Where did Surly go?"

"Look at that! It's Lana!" Fingers exclaimed in joy as Precious came over and looked at her curiously before letting out a bark.

"Aww, and who are you, you slobbery little monster." Lana chuckled, playing around with Precious.

"This is Precious, our vicious guard dog." Fingers answered before adding "But she's not very good at her job."

Lana let go of Precious and began sniffing around the place, before coming over to a shelf filled with nut-crackers. While sniffing through them, she didn't noticed that Surly pretending to be a nut-cracker, which both Todd and Buddy noticed.

"Woo, at least he's alright..." Todd sighed in relief, letting out a smile. Suddenly, Precious realized something was off as she turned back and find the place where Surly was hiding was gone. She then heard a whistle and looked over at the peanut dispenser, seeing Surly inside of the contraption as he gave her a taunting air kiss before taking one of the nuts and sniffed at it. Precious just tilted her head at him while both Buddy and Todd snickered upon what Surly was doing.

"Ha ha! Nice one Surly!" Todd chuckled. Soon, Precious began growling towards the purple squirrel and started barking at him, annoying some of the humans.

"Oh, not again!" Fingers whined before taking out his dog whistle and blew into it, causing not only Precious, but Knuckles to wince in pain upon hearing it. Surly looked through the glass and smiled, seeing how much pain Precious is in.

 _"Huh, this is so great! Ha! Take that you dimwitted dog! Hmm...maybe I could that dog whistle to my advantage. If only I can get it off that human's hands..."_ Surly thought with a smirk on his face. Apparently, lady luck was on his side as Knuckles, who couldn't take the noise anymore, grabbed Fingers by the shirt collar and swiped the dog whistle from his mouth before taking it outside and throwing it away as far as he could.

"Hey! My whistle!" Fingers yelled in shocked. "I wanna be reimbursed for that!"

With the whistle gone, Precious realizes that she can know go and finish off Surly as she jumped onto the nut dispenser, causing to it break and to bounce off with Surly inside.

Todd and Buddy gasped as the former exclaimed "Quick Buddy! We need to save him!"

Buddy nodded and gestured him to follow him. They both ran through the beams until they noticed King as Buddy prepared to jump.

"Wait, are you sure you know what you're doing, Buddy?" Todd asked in concern, but Buddy replied with a thumbs up. Todd smiled and said "Alright! I trust you Buddy! Let's go!"

They both jumped down from the beams into King's shirt, causing him to shriek in fear.

"AHHH! RATS! THERE ARE RATS IN MY PANTS!" King screamed as he fell on his butt and began shaking his legs, hoping to get both Buddy and Todd out. "GET THEM OFF OF ME!"

Todd and Buddy immediately ran out of King's pants and headed inside, which were Precious and the nut dispenser with Surly inside where as Precious immediately bounced off of it before the nut dispenser crashed right in a telephone pole, breaking the glass. Surly shook his head as Buddy and Todd ran towards him.

"Surly! Are you okay?!" Todd asked in worried.

"Yeah, don't worry kiddo, I'm fine." Surly assured with a grin before noticing Precious was running towards them. "Uh oh! Let's get out of here!"

With that, Surly, Todd, and Buddy climbed up the telephone pole as Precious came and barked at them. They immediately ran through the telephone wire before looking back to see the pug running back inside with King closing the doors.

"Alright, next chance we get, we go back in there and stash away those nuts." Surly said, looking over the nut shop.

"Yeah, but it has some tight security." Todd pointed out, which Buddy nodded in agreement.

"You're right kid, and we can't go back to the park though..." Surly wondered aloud before scoffing "Ah, forget it. Let's go get that shiny thing!"

"What? You mean that dog whistle from before?" Todd asked, which Surly nodded. "But why would...Ooooh! I see where you're going! You got it Surly!"

"That's what I'm talking about Todd! Now here we go!" Surly jumped over the fox squirrel and Buddy, who they followed after him. They immediately headed over to the alleyway, where Surly last seen the dog whistle being thrown away at. As they rummaged through the garbage, Surly noticed a shiny object wedged between some boxes.

"Ah ha!" Surly quickly grabbed it, revealing to be the dog whistle. "Yes! The thingamabooby is mine!" Surly raised it into the air with a big grin on his face.

"Awesome Surly! Now that we got it, we can finally use to control that dog and raid the Nut Shop!" Todd smiled happily. Before any of them could respond, the wooden box Surly was standing on, dropped down and caused him to fall off, dropping the dog whistle in the process.

The dog whistle dropped and rolled on the ground, landing on the feets of a familiar red squirrel and an albino squirrel.

"Surly!" Andie called.

"Andie?!" Surly looked out of the box with a shocked expression.

"What the?! Kokichi too?! What are you doing here?!" Todd exclaimed in shock.

"What? Never expected it to be me? That hurts Toddy." Kokichi said, letting some tears out before he began acting dramatic as tears ran swelling his eyes and exclaimed "WAAAAAAH! How could you not care about me?!"

"Well I hardly care for you since you act like a jerk." Todd said in a blank expression. "And you can stop that fake crying."

"Oh wow, that's a very good eyesight you got there, Toddy." Kokichi stopped all his crying as he smirked at him. "Nee-hee-hee, yep! You're all grown up."

"Shut up Kokichi." Todd said, annoyed with him.

"What are you doing here? I'm looking for food! No! I'm looking for food!" They both exclaimed in unison.

"Oh for the love of! Just make out already!" Kokichi complained, tired of them saying the exact same thing.

"Shut up Kokichi!" Todd yelled at him, who sweat-dropped at them.

"Whatever..." Kokichi rolled his eyes while crossing his arms.

"Wait! Todd, what in the world are doing here?!" Andie asked in surprise before sternly glaring at him.

"Ooh, hey Andie..." Todd turned back to her with a sweat-drop and a nervous grin. "W-well, never expected to see you here."

"What? You expect to be someone else?" Kokichi raised a brow at him while Todd just gave him a deadpan glare.

"Hey..." Andie turned back to Surly with a suspicious look. "Just what do you think you're up, Surly?"

"And why do you think that, Andie?" Surly asked, raising a brow at her.

"You better not be putting Todd in any danger at all." Andie said sternly.

"No, of course not! I mean, me. Putting this kid in danger. That's seems too far, Andie." Surly replied before noticing the dog whistle in her palms. "But say, can I have that back please?"

Surly tried to grabbed the dog whistle back, only for Andie dodged and held the dog whistle tight in her palms. "Why? What is this thing?"

"Andie! You need to give it back! We need it!" Todd pleaded, trying to get the dog whistle back, but Andie held it back.

"Yeah! We need it because it's our...musical instrument!" Surly exclaimed, much to everyone's confusion. "You know, for playing the blues."

"Really? That's the best lie you can come up with?" Kokichi raised a brow, ignoring the glare from Todd. Todd turned back to Andie with a smile and followed up on Surly's lie.

"Y-yeah! He's right! It's a musical instrument that we happened to found a while back!" Todd chuckled nervously before turning to Surly. "Go on Surly! Show her your music skills!"

"Y-yeah! With pleasure kiddo." Surly nodded before quickly grabbing the dog whistle while Andie still held onto it as he began playing through it. "I got no friends, no food. This whistle got nothing to do with food. Oooh, I got the no food...bluuuuueees!"

"Ooh, catchy song. Wonder if the creators should've made a song about that..." Kokichi thought with a big smirk on his face. "But ha ha ha ha! Really? You expect us to believe that dog whistle is a flute. Any moron can figure it out."

"Like you?" Todd smirked at him, causing Kokichi to flinch.

"Uhh...no?" Todd shook at his head, unable to comprehend how much insanity this albino squirrel has in that head of his.

"Alright, that's enough!" Andie took the dog whistle out of Surly's paws and held it against the storm drain. "You found food, and put Todd in danger, didn't you?! And this thing has something to do with it, huh?"

"Andie! What are you doing?!" Todd exclaimed in shock, seeing Andie do something like this, even to Surly. "Give it back!" Todd tried to, but was held back by Surly, who didn't want the fox squirrel to start up a fight with her.

Todd couldn't believe it as he stared at her. He always thought of Andie as Surly's voice of reason and that she cared about him. He just couldn't believe that she would do such a thing like that to the purple squirrel despite her telling him that she does care for him.

"Whoa whoa! Wait!" Surly pleaded, surprising Andie a bit as she raised a brow at him. "Okay Andie, let's not get too 'nutty' around here. Part of the expression."

"Of what expression?" Kokichi asked with a raised brow, adding more fury of Andie's annoyance.

"Shut up Kokichi! I don't wanna hear it from you anymore!" Andie exclaimed before turning back to Surly. "Surly, I'm having one heck of a day! The park lost all its food, Grayson has lost his mind, I've lost Grayson, and I was put up with all the annoyance and stupid puns and gags Kokichi had to keep making up throughout the night! Now you better listen up straight because..."

While Andie kept yammering about her day, Surly and Todd noticed King leaving the door bare opened, meaning that they could sneak in.

"The door!" Both Todd and Surly said in unison while Buddy got up with a curious expression.

"What? What door?" Andie asked.

"I-I mean...my door is always opens to you, Andie!" Surly lied before he, Buddy, and Todd quickly ran through the streets, avoiding the traffic. "Bye Andie!"

"Hey! Get back here!" Andie demanded.

"And keep that thing for me, will ya?" Surly asked, much to Andie's confusion. Todd looked back at Andie with a sad look, unsure to believe in anything she would say. Andie looks back at the dog whistle and looks back at where Surly, Todd, and Buddy were heading.

"Just where do they think they're going?" Andie wondered.

"Hmm...I say that big store that says 'Maury Nut Shops'." Kokichi shrugged, pointing to the store's sign.

"Wait, nut shop?!" Andie gasped. "So that's where they going!"

"What's the big deal? It's not like they're going to raid the nut shop." Kokichi said, ignoring the deadpan glare Andie gave him.

"...Remind me again why you're here." Andie sighed.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Surly, Todd, and Buddy were able to get inside of the nut shop, only to find the pug blocking the basement's door. Surly growled in anger and slammed his fist onto some contraption.

Buddy noticed a switch, which both Todd and Surly noticed. "Why not use this? It might distract that dog." Todd suggested.

"Well...that's the only I can think of. Let's try it." Surly nodded as he flipped the switch, turning the contraption on as it started moving. It was a plain old pony's ride which kids use to ride on it to enjoy themselves. Soon, Precious noticed it and walked over it with a curious expression, wondering what started it until she heard a whistle and looked back to see Surly, Buddy, and Todd standing at the basement's door, the one place she was guarding.

Surly let out a taunting chuckle while Todd gave her a raspberry as they both shut the door closed, much to Precious's shock as she twitched her left eye in annoyance. Unfortunately, she noticed King passing by with a shovel in his hands, and with a hard and cold glare he sent at her, she pouted and whimpered in fear.

Meanwhile, both Surly and Todd chuckled and hi-fived each other until they accidentally bumped into Buddy and began falling down the stairs.

"OW! TAIL! OW! HEAD! OW! TAIL! OW! HEAD! OW! TAIL! OW! HEAD!" Surly exclaimed in pain as they all fell into a bags of sands. Todd came out and shook his head, getting the sand off his head. Buddy got back up and looked at something with a big smile on his face. Surly got back up and grabbed the blue rat's neck, and was about to punch him.

"Surly, stop! Look!" Todd pointed at where Buddy was looking at. Surly raised a brow at them and slowly turned around, only to gasp in shock upon seeing what it was. It was a room filled with nuts, and lots of different kinds of nuts! Probably a million inside in this basement. Surly jumped off from the bag as he slowly walks towards it with a jaw-dropped before it formed into a big smile.

"Yes...yes...YEEEES!" Surly yelled as he dropped to his knees and exclaimed "Buddy! Kid! We found it! The lost city of Nut-Lantis!"

Surly then fell down and started rolling around the ground, with some nuts left on the ground. Todd chuckle with a smile, knowing how funny and admirable the purple squirrel can be.

"Wow, I never seen him this...excited before." Todd said with a smile on his face, which Buddy nodded in agreement before they started to hear voices, and it was coming from the huge cavern on the wall. "Uh oh..."

Todd and Buddy widened their eyes as they jumped down and tried to get Surly's attention, but he was acting too crazy with all the nuts around as they tried to stop him, but failed. Buddy sighed and grabbed Surly by the legs and started dragging him to a nearby barrel, with Todd carrying the right leg of Surly while Buddy carried the left. As soon as they made it to a hiding spot behind the barrel, avoiding the humans in the process, Surly began chanting some nonsense as his mouth was filled with nuts.

With no choice, Buddy slapped Surly in the face, snapping him back from his sanity. Surly shook his head from the pain, putting back his serious face as he said "Thanks Bud, kiddo."

Todd helped him get back up from the ground as Surly sighed "Sorry about that. Went a little nuts. I didn't say anything too stupid, did I?"

"Umm...no, not at all." Todd chuckled nervously while Buddy sighed in annoyance. Soon, they noticed the two human crooks taking a bunch of sacks into a makeshift elevator, and once they turned it on, it was starting to move towards the metal door that Surly, Todd, and Buddy tried to go through.

"Huh...storing food for winter, eh?" Surly wondered, seeing the huge cavern behind them.

"Umm, I don't think so Surly." Todd shook his head. "It looks like they're digging a hole for...something."

"Whatever kiddo, I don't care what those humans are doing." Surly rolled his eyes, not bothered to see what they're up to. "Alright, remember guys. We're gonna dig our own hole, a tunnel from here to the alley, loot the whole place, get fat for winter. Got it?"

Buddy nodded while Todd smiled and replied "Got it Surly! Come on team, let's go!"

With that, the humans went upstairs while Surly, Todd, and Surly were busy collecting some nuts and go through the metal gate where they can plan their heist. While they were busy collecting nuts, Todd heard a growl as he turned around and saw Precious glaring at them.

"Umm guys, we got a problem." Todd said with widened eyes.

"What? Small or big?" Surly asked.

"Big." Todd pointed towards the problem, which both Surly and Buddy looked over and saw Precious glaring at them, much to their shock.

"You've got to be kidding me right now..." Surly sighed as Precious chased after them. They immediately dodged her pouncing and jumped onto the small elevator and headed through the metal gate. Todd and Buddy successfully made it out, but Surly accidentally tripped and got himself wedged between the metal gate, much to their shock.

"Surly!" Todd exclaimed as he and Buddy tried to help him until Andie and Kokichi came. Andie pushed both of them back while Kokichi stood out of the way to make himself uninvolved of this scene.

"Okay Surly, you are going to tell me what's going on down there!" Andie demanded as Todd tried to get past her.

"Yes! Yes! Just give me that thing!" Surly exclaimed in fear.

"Andie! What do you think you're doing?! Let go of me!" Todd demanded as Surly looked back down through the metal gate, hearing the dog's barking.

"There's food down there, and you're going to share it with us, right?" Andie asked with a sly smirk.

"Never!" Surly exclaimed.

"Surly! You better tell me or else!"

"Okay! I'll share! I'll share!"

"Fifty-fifty!"

"Fifty-fifty?" Surly said, feeling offended of that. "I never gotten fifty-fifty in my entire life before!"

Suddenly, he was yank back through the metal gate, much to Todd's shock. He then growled and yelled "Of for god's sake, Andie!"

He immediately snatches the dog whistle out of her palms and tosses it to the purple squirrel. Once Surly got his hands by it, he was yanked by Precious, who was pulling his tail as they both fell down back on the ground with Surly holding the whistle in front of Precious.

"Ah ha!" Surly smirked at the pug, who gasped upon seeing it. "I got four words for ya!"

"Okay?!" Precious asked in fear.

"Thing-a-ma-booby." Surly smirked at her, causing her to whimper. "How do you like that, huh?"

"Okay! Okay! You win, you win!" Precious said, backing away a little.

"Huh? Oh. So you can talk." Surly chuckled as the others looked through the metal gate. Andie widened her eyes in surprise, seeing the whole room filled with nuts. As for Kokichi...

"Meh, I've seen better." Kokichi rolled his eyes.

"Alright, it's safe to come down." Surly called over as Kokichi and Buddy jumped down to come and check it out, but for Andie, she was held back by Todd as he glared at her angrily as he tells Surly "Hang on Surly. Me and Andie need a little talk."

He yanks her back and slams the metal door as he glared at her.

"T-Todd! What are you doing?!" Andie asked in shock.

"I can't believe you, Andie! I thought you were better than this! What was all that about?!" Todd asked angrily.

"I'm sorry on what happened, Todd! But I had to force him to make the deal! I had no choice!" Andie retorted.

"You could have tried negotiating again or done things the easy way! Those were some other options you had, and you could have given him another chance!" Todd argued.

"Todd, you don't know Surly than I do! I have to be forceful because Surly is known as the most stubborn and arrogant squirrel of all of Liberty Park! I had to be forceful towards him!"

"And so you threatened to get rid of the whistle and you nearly get him eaten by a dog?! I believed in you! I trusted you! I thought you were Surly's voice of reason! I thought you were the rodent who shows kindness to him!" Todd exclaimed in fury.

"Todd, I swear! I-I didn't know there was a dog down there at all! Look, I wasn't myself today due to how annoying Kokichi was last night and this morning, along with what happened last night when-"

"You know what? First you get offended by his joke, then you call him a coward, and now all of this! You want to play bad cop like that out of nowhere like that?! Then fine! You, Andie, are no better than Raccoon! We're no longer friends!"

Andie became shocked to hear that as Todd turns away from her to the door and opens it to rejoin with Surly and the others. Before he goes in though, he glanced back at Andie with a glare and says "I just don't trust you anymore, Andie. Just stay away from me, and don't ever talk to me again."

He then walks through the metal gate where Surly and the others were before slamming the door behind him. Andie widened her eyes, seeing how angry and furious Todd was.

 _"Todd...What have I done?"_ Andie thought as she felt hurt and sad that she lost Todd's trust and now he hates her now. She sighs sadly and muttered "Things cannot get any worse than this..."

She then remembered what Todd's last words were to her. You were no better than Raccoon...

 _"That's not true...is it? Have I...really been that forceful towards Surly? If only if I been nice instead of rude and forceful, then..."_ Andie let out a tear before wiping it away and entering the nut shop, trying to forget about what happened just now.

She came down the little elevator and walks around the room in awe. Surly was busy interrogating Precious, who turned out to be friendly and was just following orders from her masters, the crooks from before. She then tries to be friends with Surly, much to his disappointment. Kokichi looked around before taking a few nuts and eating them.

"Yep, they're peanuts alright." Kokichi chuckled.

"Wow..." Andie muttered. "Look at this place. There's enough food to feed the park for years."

"Well more like in a year if any of the viewers out there know what I'm saying." Kokichi winked off-screen, much to Surly, Buddy, and Todd's confusion, who looked at each other and shrugged on what Kokichi was even saying.

"Even so, this could be our way to save the park from starvation!" Andie said before jumping onto a barrel filled with nuts and taking a few bits from one.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hey! What do you're doing?" Surly asked. Todd leans in toward Surly and says "Pretending to be a hero, that's what."

Andie overhears this and rolls her eyes in annoyance without any of them noticing. After she was finished, she grabbed her card box backpack and says "Well, I'm off!"

"What? Where?" Surly asked.

"We made a deal, remember?" Andie reminded him.

"More like a blackmail to me..." Todd rolled his eyes in annoyance, which Andie overheard and sighed.

"Oh! I can attack her if ya want?" Precious offered, which annoyed Surly.

"I said shut it, mutt." Surly demanded, which Precious did. "Look, I get my share, you get ours, that's all."

"There's no way I can take all of these nuts back at the park." Andie said, realizing this problem before jumping down in front of Surly and Todd as she proposes "We need a fool proof plan."

"Or we can stay here for the rest of our lives and eat all these nuts through winter while everyone starves to death and probably resumes that we're dead for good while we're consuming these nuts!" Kokichi proposed, causing everyone to glare at him. "What? Just saying."

"Nobody bothered to ask you, Kokichi." Todd said, glaring at the albino squirrel. Todd was also angry with him for not even helping Surly at all, as well as for stealing the magic fortune cookie that could possibly get him back of being a human.

"Anyway..." Surly cleared his throat before turning back at Andie with half-lid eyes and a cocky grin and said "Well good luck out there, Andie. Buddy, the kid and I are digging a tunnel."

"What? No, that's crazy." Andie chuckled before widening her eyes in realization. "No, that's brilliant!"

"Wait what?" Surly and Todd asked in unison.

Andie climbed up the elevator and headed through the metal gate before saying "Oh, Raccoon and the animals will flip when they hear about this!"

"Oh man, so we won't go with my plan?" Kokichi asked sadly. "That's really harsh, you guys."

Everyone ignored him as Andie continued "We'll be back, first thing tomorrow, to get started on a tunnel!"

"That's not part of the deal!" Surly complained.

"Should I attack her now?" Precious asked, ready to bite Andie.

"What? No! You stay!" Surly ordered, which Precious did before he turned back to Andie and exclaimed "Look! I never said that I'd work with the park!"

"Well, you're welcome to come back with me, if you want." Andie smiled, much to Todd's annoyance. "Who knows, you might just end up being a hero."

Surly looked at her like she was crazy while Todd crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"I'll be back with the team!" Andie said, opening up the metal gate. "Well done Surly!" With that, she took one glance at Todd, still feeling bad for breaking his trust before taking her leave.

"Well, I guess I'm out. Later suckers." Kokichi took something out of his scarf and threw it in the ground, smoke pouring around his body, before it started to clear off and showed that Kokichi was gone.

"...Okay, how does he do that?" Todd wondered.

"I've been wondering that since day one." Surly shrugged before turning to Buddy and says "Put a tail on her."

Buddy raised a brow of confusion at what his friend meant as Surly clarified "You know what I mean. Just follow her."

Buddy nodded and headed out through the metal gate, following after Andie and Kokichi.

"Hey bosses." Both Todd and Surly turned back to Precious, who smiles and says "I'm gonna lick your faces."

"Yeah, no thanks." Todd shook his head before turning to Surly with a smile. "So, what do you wanna do now that they're gone."

"Well, first we need to come up with a plan..." Surly thought before smirking at him. "Think you can help me out on that?"

"You bet Surly!" Todd smiled happily.

"That's what I wanna hear. Thanks Todd." Surly chuckled, while Todd became surprised. "What?"

"You...said my name. You never said my name before." Todd said, which made Surly blushed a bit.

"W-well, I thought you were getting tired of being called 'kid', that's all." Surly said, glancing away nervously. Todd chuckled at seeing him shift uncomfortably and said "Well even so, I'm glad that you're calling me by that. I guess you're finally trusting me, huh?"

"Well yeah, you seem like a good kid. You even stood up for me back at the trial when everyone voted me off. Well, I gotta say, you're not bad...Todd." Surly chuckled, making Todd chuckled as well. "Now come on, we got a heist to plan."

"Right behind ya, Surly!" Todd nodded as they walked over to the other side of the room to planned out their heist of the Maury's Nut Shop.

"Hey, come on you guys. D-don't be weird out by me." Precious said, as she began following after them.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

It was already night time for Liberty Park as everyone gathered around the mill as Andie was explaining everything she went through and found last night through the city. Kokichi was seen leaning against the wall, not bothering to tell everyone what was he doing since nobody bothered to ask him anyway.

After Andie talked about the Nut Shop, everyone beamed upon hearing how many nuts were in there.

"I proposed that we form a team in order take the nuts for the park!" Mole announced, causing everyone to cheer on that idea.

"See? What did I tell ya?" A blue mice asked, feeling joyed of that. "The sun shining days are here again!"

"Really? I don't remember you saying that." Kokichi snickered, ignoring the glare from mouse. "All I remember was you screaming 'AHH! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!' AH HA HA HA! That was a hilarious expression you made!"

"Shut up!" The mice exclaimed in anger.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Andie spoke up, trying to calm down the crowd. "But first, we're gonna have to work with Surly and Todd if we're gonna pull this off."

"That's right! We're working with...ARE YOU NUTS?!" The mouse looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Ah ah ha ha! There it is again! Oh god, that...that face you're making!" Kokichi laughed, falling on the ground while everyone looked at him with annoyance. "I mean, somebody out there! Make this into a meme! For my sake! HA HA HA HA!"

"Anyway..." Andie cleared her throat before turning to the others. "I made a deal with Surly! We split everything! Fifty-fifty! Also, Todd is with him into helping out into this heist."

"Negotiate?" Jimmy asked with a raised brow.

"With Surly?" Johnny scoffed. "Are you kidding?! He's the reason we don't have any nuts to begin with!"

"Besides, why is Todd with him?!" Jamie demanded. "I mean, I know he defended Surly back at his trial since he didn't knew who he was, but him joining him! Is he betraying us?!"

"Maybe...he was actually an accomplice to Surly all along?" Mole thought aloud. "He could be possibly been with co-hoots with him all along and tried to help him in many heists he's done without any of us knowing."

Everyone roared in anger, hearing that Todd would be siding with Surly instead of the park, but they had to agree with Mole's theory, what if Todd really was a traitor?

"No! No!" Andie said, calming the crowd down. "Listen everyone, I know you're upset. Even I am..." Andie sighed, remembering those last words Todd said to her. Her being no better than Raccoon? It was such a hard truth she had to face. Realizing it, she really was no better than her mentor. She then shook hear head with a determined expression and said "But remember! For as long as this old mill has stood, we have always worked together and kept our promises! We are not a pack of wild animals!"

Everyone looked at her with blanked expressions as Kokichi muttered "How ironic..."

Johnny let out a loud burp, much to his sibling's joy. "These two are animals." Jamie pointed out, which made Johnny laughed.

"Winter is coming! If we don't work with both Surly and Todd, then we won't survive!" Andie pointed out.

"Did Grayson see this Nut Store nor saw Todd with Surly?" She turned around to see Raccoon and Cardinal, hiding behind the shadows with a curious and serious expression.

"N-no...we got separated." Andie said sadly, remembering Grayson's sacrifice.

"Let's all wait till Grayson gets back here." Mole suggested, trying to comfort the situation. Unfortunately, Raccoon didn't want that as he said "Grayson's never coming back."

"Unless of course he's now a ghost that will forever haunt this park." Kokichi snickered, completely scaring everyone.

"What? Grayson's gone?! Oh no!" Jamie gasped. Kokichi got up and comforted her with a sly smile and said "Fear not my beloved Miss Jamie. Maybe that gray dork may be gone, but you still have-OOF!"

Unfortunately, Jamie punched him on the stomach, causing him to wince in pain as he fell down on his knees and slumped down on the ground. "Yeah, not gonna happen buster." Jamie glared at him, along with her brothers.

"Well...worth it." Kokichi muttered.

"And Andie, you're saying that Todd isn't a traitor?" Raccoon questioned before rolling his eyes and scoffed "You said he was seen with Surly, correct? If he's siding with him, he's considered of betraying this park."

"No! He wouldn't! I know what he's thinking of joining with Surly is crazy, but-"

"But nothing, Andie." Raccoon cut her off before saying "First Todd refuses to vote, then runs off from his punishment, leaving the white albino buffoon to do his work, and now he's side with Surly? I should've known that boy would be nothing more than trouble."

"Oh?" Kokichi ears perked up on what Raccoon said as he got up and said "Oh, so you have seen through my lie, eh? I don't remember seeing you around the place. So how did you know that Racky?"

Raccoon narrowed his eyes at him and said "I've send Cardinal to go and check up on him, but instead, he tells me that you were doing his punishment. Care to explain...Kokichi?"

Kokichi simply just smirked and let out a chuckle before saying "I'm not telling you that! Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

"What are you talking about, Kokichi?" Andie asked suspiciously.

"Yeah! We want to know!" Mole demanded, making Kokichi look at everyone with a smirk on his face.

"So, you all want the truth, eh? Okie-dokie! Prepare yourselves everyone, prepare for the cold hard truth!" Kokichi announced before saying "See, I told Todd to go and meet up with Surly while I covered his punishment."

"What?!" Everyone gasped upon hearing this confession.

"Why in the world would you do that?! Are you nuts?!" Jimmy exclaimed in shock.

"No, I'm not nuts! I'm bananas!" Kokichi laughed with a big grin.

"It's true, he really is." Mole nodded in agreement.

"Besides, I was just having a little fun, that's all." Kokichi laughed. Raccoon narrowed his eyes at him and said "You're walking on thin ice, Kokichi. If you keep doing these pranks of yours up, then I'll have no choice but to banish you out of the park."

Everyone gasped upon hearing that as Kokichi turned to him with his face darkened before smiling creepily and replied "Oh really? Please old man, I rather for you not too at all. Besides, you may have fooled these idiots, but you can fool me."

Everyone became afraid of that smile, not even hearing what he said except Raccoon, who glares at him before Kokichi says "Well, I guess I should get going. Bye bye."

With that, Kokichi took his leave, leaving everyone in the mill feeling afraid of the albino squirrel.

"Y-yes, anyway..." Raccoon cleared his throat before resuming his speech. "Anywho, I have come with a decision. The Bruisers, Mole, and Andie will dig a tunnel to get the nuts out. Mole will lead."

"A-ha!" Mole laughed before realizing something. "I-I will?"

"And while I don't trust Surly, we shall work with him. For now. When all the nuts are secure, we will take what is ours." Raccoon said before makign a serious expression. "We do not honor deals with Surly. And Andie?"

"Yes Raccoon?" Andie turned to him, who gave a glare towards her and said "If you try to side with both Surly and Todd, you'll have to face...unintended consequences."

"U-unintended consequences?" Andie asked in surprise. "...Yes Raccoon."

"Good, glad to hear." Raccoon smiled before saying "For the park!"

"For the park!" Everyone, except Andie, cheered loudly as they were happy that they were finally gonna be saved for winter. Unbeknownst to them, Buddy was eavesdropping on them as he immediately takes off and goes and warns Surly about this.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

After the meeting ended, Andie was seen sitting on top of the mill with a sad look on her face. She began to remember the argument she had with Todd and how upset he was. He really did cared for Surly, unlike her. She really did care, but tried to be forceful in order to gain Surly's attention and make him listen to her, but after hearing what Todd called her, 'being no better than Raccoon', it made her began to have doubts in her heart that if she really cares for Surly or not.

"I didn't mean it, Todd..." Andie muttered. "I just...wanted to help, that's all."

Andie sighed sadly and looked at the ground until a voice spoke up "Well well well, out here moaning in sadness isn't gonna help ya, Andie."

Andie turned around to see Kokichi, who had a smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes upon seeing him and said "Go away Kokichi."

"What? I was just saying. But that part when Todd says that he never wants to be your friend and that you were no better than old Racky. Wow, that's gotta sting." Kokichi laughed, causing Andie to glare at him.

"And how exactly do you know that?" Andie demanded.

"I was watching you from the metal gate and I reacted quickly when Toddy was about to come over to the metal gate." Kokichi replied with a shrug and a smirk.

"Should've figured." Andie sighed.

"Oh, poor old Andie. Sad because he trust with Todd was now ruined. Yep, all according to plan." Kokichi giggled. Andie overheard him as she looked at him with a suspicious look and demanded "What do you mean 'all according to plan'? What are you planning Kokichi?"

"Well...I don't like to brag but...the part where Todd loses his trust on you. Yep, I planned that." Kokichi explained, much to Andie's shock.

"W-what?!" Andie exclaimed. "Then...when you were annoying this morning and last night...you purposely did that to make me go off the edge to put Surly in danger!" Andie then growled and demanded "Why?! Why would you do that?!"

"Nothing much, but let's just say it was a lesson for Toddy to learn about trusts. Sometimes trust can be broken, but they can be regain as you tried to earn their trust back. So don't worry your tail Andie, he'll trust you again...someday." Kokichi smiled in a casual way while putting both his paws behind his back.

Andie became annoyed with him as she exclaimed "What is your problem?! What? Do you think all of this would make you happy?"

"Eh?"

"You think getting yourself in trouble is going to make you famous?! Do you think it might cheer up your sad lonely life when everyone tried to get along with you, but you refused to get comforted by anyone by pranking and getting in trouble with them?!"

"Yes, 100% true." Kokichi nodded bluntly, much to Andie's surprise. Kokichi then glared at her and said "You think you animals understand my problems? Nobody does. Never in my entire life before. People never understand each other, and they never will."

"K-Kokichi...!" Andie looked at him with surprise as she saw something through him in his heart. he felt...sadness and regret from him.

"You think I like to lie to everyone around here? It's the only way to survive in a world like this. Besides, I even trapped myself in a veil of my own lies to survive." Kokichi said with a glare. "Besides, like your one to understand."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Andie asked in confusion.

"What? You think I never know?" Kokichi chuckled, bringing back his casual smile before continuing "You think that if you side with both Surly and Raccoon, you might think things will work out between the two and Raccoon might think that Surly really is a good squirrel and understands his problems and might let him back to the park, but I'm quite upset with ya." Kokichi shook his head while noticing Andie widened her eyes and became shocked on how Kokichi knew that.

"You think that's how the world works, but guess what? This is the real world, and the world is unpredictable, and nobody can think what the world wants. I'm upset that someone as you wouldn't know that."

"You don't look that upset." Andie pointed out, seeing how calm he was.

"Some animals such as me and a certain leader of yours would know how to conceal the true emotions we keep inside of us. And...trust me Andie..." Kokichi darkened his face as he made a frown as his purple eyes glowed at her and said "I am very VERY upset with you."

Andie felt speechless upon seeing Kokichi like this until he smiled and said "But I won't stop you. Besides...Toddy will regain your trust towards you during the heist."

"Huh?" Andie looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean? How do you know for sure?"

"Oh trust me, it'll work." Kokichi assured with a grin. "Besides, don't let Toddy's words get to ya. You may be naggy sometimes...most of the times...Okay, all the times." Andie gave him a deadpan expression as he continued "Besides, even if you're annoying, you're not even close to Raccoon."

"What?"

"Well, you see. You always keep believing in people, but go to different sides because you want to make them be friends. Even if that's a stupid idea, I say you might be the key to make both Surly and Toddy come closer." Kokichi smiled.

"Make both Surly and Todd come closer? What are you talking about?" Andie asked.

"...I can't tell ya." Kokichi shook his head. "This is my story, and you're not part of it...Oh wow, I sounded like Aaron back there."

"Huh? I'm not a part of it?" Andie asked.

"Nah, you're just some side character but will play a good role in this..." Kokichi then darkened his face with a creepy eerie smile, scaring Andie. "Trust me Andie, keep on doing what you do best and try to make Surly feel guilty so he can realize the error of his ways."

"...I don't know what you're planning, but...fine." Andie sighed. "I'll do that."

Kokichi reverted back to his smile and said "That's nice to hear. Well, gotta go! Try not to do anything stupid like I would."

With that, Kokichi immediately ran off out of the mill while Andie watches him go off.

"Wow, I never seen Kokichi act like that before." Andie said, blinking in surprise. _"Since when did he actually shows kindness? Especially...giving me advice and support? Oh well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I have to do my best in order to gain Todd's trust back, and make Surly become a part of the park again. I'll do it...for everyone..."_ Andie thought, before slowly smiling and stares at the moon.

As Kokichi leaves the mill, he looks at the moon with a sad look and said "Oh well, I was just saying, anyway. Besides, I just didn't want her to feel lonely...Like I did..."

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	8. Chapter 7 - The Nut Job Heist

**_Note: The Nut Job belongs to Global Entertainment and all characters belongs to their respective creators. Todd Lloyd belongs to me and Dusk19._**

Today was the day for the heist to begins. The Bruisers were hiding behind the wall, watching Lucky, who was grabbing some equipment from the back of the shop, heading back inside of the shop. Jamie looked back to see him leave as she gestured her brothers that the coast was clear as they immediately headed over to the side of the shop. Mole was behind them as they crossed underneath the metal gates, but he didn't noticed it as he was hit in the face by it, causing him to fall down in pain.

"Why aren't we doing this at night?" Mole complained as he was pulled away by Johnny and Jimmy as Andie comes down by climbing down the metal gate. She looks around, wondering where Surly and Todd would be.

"Alright! Let's get to work!" Jimmy exclaimed, stretching his back a bit.

"Stand back!" Johnny smirked as he and his brother began scratching their claws through the hard ground.

"Umm...guys?" Andie called, gaining their attention. "The nut shop is over...there!" Andie pointed towards it, much to the brother's surprise.

"Allow me." Mole volunteered, getting back up as he walked over to the shop with a smug look. The others looked at him with a weird look as he walked over to the circuit box and attempted to open it, but he was having some trouble.

"No, it's like this!" A voice shouted as a familiar white paw appeared out of nowhere and slammed open the circuit box, and while Mole was holding on the door handle, he was slammed into the wall, sliding off slowly from it.

"What the?!" Andie exclaimed as a piece of the brick wall came off, revealing it to be nothing more than a camouflage, and the animal hiding beneath it was none other than Kokichi.

"Hey guys! You missed me?" Kokichi laughed.

"Kokichi?!" Jamie gasped. "What are you doing here?!"

"What does it look like? I'm here to help." Kokichi smiled. "Who do you expect to join ya? Tom Cruise coming here to help you on this mission? This isn't Mission: Impossible you know!"

"Who?" Johnny asked.

"Never mind that." Andie said, not wanting to go through any of Kokichi's randomness. "What exactly are you doing here? Raccoon assigned US for the job."

"Really? Well that's too bad! Nobody tells this guy what to do!" Kokichi exclaimed. "Besides, that guy can kiss my tail! I'm in charge in this!"

"No! I am!" Mole complained, causing Kokichi to give him an unimpressed look.

"Well that's a bummer." Kokichi said. "Wasn't expecting Racky of all people to give the job to you. How disappointing."

"S-shut up!" Mole exclaimed angrily.

"Whatever, just leave us alone. We got important work to do." Jamie said, walking over to the circuit box and examining it.

"Why yes! Proceed Miss Jamie! I won't stop you!" Kokichi said, wiggling his brows at her, which she ignored.

"So what do you think? Green wire?" Jimmy asked his brother, who replied "Huh...read my mind."

"Wait! We don't even know what-" Andie tried to warn her, but Mole cut her off.

"No! Andie! I am in charge! Remember?" Mole reminded her.

"Yeah! Besides, everyone knows whatever I say is more important than whatever you say! So shut up!" Kokichi added.

"Since when did anyone says that?" Johnny asked his brother, who only shrugged. Andie grumbled and face-pawed herself, unable to convince them to listen to her. Jamie decided to touch the wires, but once she touched one of them, she was immediately electrocuted, causing her to let go of the wire while everyone flinches and becomes shocked to see her laying on the ground, not moving an inch.

"AAHHHHH!" Jimmy screamed as they rushed towards their sister, including Kokichi.

"No! My beloved Miss Jamie! Don't go to the light! Please!" Kokichi begged.

"Come on! Jamie! Wake up!" Johnny pleaded.

"Wake up sis! Wake up!" Jimmy slapped her lightly on the face, attempting to wake her up. Suddenly, Mole pushed them aside and said "Disperse! I have been trained on mouth-to-mouth resuscitative measures."

As Mole was about to give Jamie some CPR, Kokichi pushed him aside and said "Move over! Allow this guy to handle it!"

Kokichi looked over the unconscious Jamie, making a romantic look on his face and said "Oh...how have I waited for this!" Kokichi bent down and prepared to give her CPR, but in return, he was met with a punch in the jaw by none other than Jamie, who immediately woken up from the shock, only to find Kokichi about to kiss her. Without hesitation, she immediately punched his jaw real hard, causing him to get dizzy as he muttered "She's fine..."

With that, he was knocked out like a light with Johnny, Jimmy, and Mole looking at his unconscious self with shocked expressions. Suddenly, they heard a whistle as they looked up and saw a figure jumping down and landing onto a ladder before sliding down through it.

The others gasped as Andie looked at the figure, wondering who could it be.

"Grayson?" Andie thought. _"No, it can't be! He sacrificed himself in order to save my life from that rat with some help from Kokichi. So...is it..."_

Suddenly, the figure jumps down onto the garbage dumpster, and to the groups' surprise, two familiar figures appeared on top of the garbage dumpster, revealing to be both Todd and Buddy as they waved at them.

"Nice for you guys to join in on the party." Todd smiled before noticing Andie, causing him to glare at her. She glanced away from him, realizing that he was still angry at her for what happened yesterday. Soon, Surly appeared behind them, looking down at his team and said "I've been showcasing this place for a day. Every hole, vent, window, and door has been mapped in my head. You guys wanna break into this place? Survive for the winter?...Well you talk to me."

"Hm...nice intro." Kokichi said, getting back on his feet while it surprised everyone to see him still alive.

"Huh? I thought sis knocked you out?!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Ha ha, I was always get punched in the face and such by Miss Jamie all the time. So of course I'm used to it." Kokichi chuckled with a sly grin before noticing Todd. "Oh hey Toddy! How's it going with old Surly?"

"Fine, he's been doing great." Todd replied, raising a brow at him. _"Now what is he up to?"_ Todd thought. "Surly and I been having a good time yesterday while planning the heist."

"I see, just asking." Kokichi smiled while he noticed the animals were being angered.

"What?! How can you take this?!" Jamie exclaimed angrily. "Todd is joining with Surly! He chose him over the park, how can you be so causal with this?!"

"Miss Jamie...please be quiet, will ya?" Kokichi asked, giving her a serious expression.

"W-what?" Jamie asked in surprise, never seeing this side of Kokichi.

"I may like you a lot and hopefully one day that we can bear our children togeter, but it's very rude to be speaking like that while hurting Todd's feelings. He doesn't trust us, so its best not to interfere with him and Surly getting along. So please be quiet." Kokichi said with a smirk.

The others looked at him with shocked expressions, even Todd, Buddy, and Surly were surprised. Surly narrowed his eyes, looking straight at Kokichi.

 _"Just what is he planning? I've never seen him say that in front of Jamie at all. Hmm...I better keep my eye on him for good and hope that he doesn't play any tricks like he always does."_ Surly thought, planning on keeping his eye on the albino trickster for good. "Anyway..." Surly cleared his throat and said "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Yippee! I've been waiting for something like this to begin!" Kokichi said, getting giddy.

"Why are you getting all excited about?!" Mole questioned, looking at the albino squirrel in confusion.

"Because things are about to get..." Kokichi took out some small dark sunglasses and put on his face with a serious expression. "...Nuts."

Everyone looked at him with blank expressions, not impressed with that pun of his. He noticed it and says "Did you guys get it? Nuts? Because we're...you know what? Just forget it."

"Best idea I've heard all day." Jamie sighed, making Kokichi smirk at her.

"Ahh, thanks Miss Jamie! They do call me a genius for a reason!" Kokichi chuckled, causing Jamie to glare at him angrily.

"Anyway...Surly, Todd, Buddy, you guys said that you had a plan, right? Mind explaining to us?" Andie asked politely.

"I see why not." Surly smirked. "I am awesome for a reason."

He, Buddy, and Todd jumped down from the ground and walked over to the wall where everyone rounded up and waited for what the purple squirrel says. Soon, Surly and Todd began drawing some stuff on the wall, showing a scribble image of the robbers from the shop, Precious, and the nuts in the store and also scribbles of Surly and Todd on there. Soon, Todd heads back with the group, standing between Buddy and Kokichi while also glancing at Andie before turning back at Surly, listening to his plans.

"Now, we dig here, from the alley into the basement." Surly explained.

"Why don't we just use the door thingy?" Johnny asked, pointing towards the metal door next to Surly.

"Too unpredictable. They locked it from the inside." Surly answered.

"Yeah, and we don't a repeat on someone getting stuck in there, right?" Todd asked while looking at Andie, who sighed and looked away. "So Surly, what do you think on how do we get in? Like do we dig a hole in there? You did propose something like that yesterday."

"Excellent kiddo!" Surly smirked, giving Todd a noogie, causing him to chuckle while everyone looked at them with either angered or shocked looks. Kokichi simply smirked at him as Surly continued his explanation. "Now then, Todd raises a good plan. We're gonna need the Bruisers to dig a hole down through the basement. Think you muscle-heads can handle it?"

"Of course we can!" Johnny boasted.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Jimmy scoffed with a smirk.

"We can do this!" Jamie smiled. "After all, we're expert diggers!"

"Well it makes sense since they are groundhogs." Todd shrugged before making a smile. "I wish you guys good luck."

"Thanks Todd!" The Bruisers nodded in unison with smiles on their faces. Even though they were on different sides, they have to be nice with each other...for now.

"Wait? What about Chubby Mcgrubby?" Kokichi asked curiously.

"Chubby Mcgrubby?" Todd asked, looking at him with a weird look.

"And by that, I think he means me." Mole said, glaring at him. Kokichi smiled and said "Yep-a-doodles! What about you? Aren't a mole, Mole? Shouldn't you be able to dig?"

"Yeah, I mean you can dig, right?" Todd asked curiously.

"About that...I'm afraid it's hard but I do not dig." Mole said bluntly.

Todd raises a brow at Mole and said "What? That's weird. Aren't Moles supposed to dig around in burrows and such?"

"Well..." Mole rubbed his cheek in embarrassment, wondering if he should tell him or not.

"Easy, because he's blind as a bat." Johnny said, glaring at him.

"What? Who said that?! Where you are?" Mole asked, looking around while Jamie sighs.

"Yeah...Just forget I asked." Kokichi said, sweat-dropping a little.

"Agreed." Todd nodded in agreement.

"Same here." Surly nodded before clearing his throat. "Now then, as soon as the Bruisers are done digging through the hole, we'll be ready to steal as many nuts as possible without the humans nor the dog noticing."

"Dog?!" Everyone, except Kokichi, gasped.

"Relax you all, we'll be fine." Todd assured before rubbing his paws together and let out a smirk. "We got ourselves a secret weapon in case we encounter her."

"Yep!" Surly showed them the dog whistle he was keeping wrapped around his back, much to the groups' amazement. "With this baby, we'll be a-okay!"

"Phew, that's a relief." Jimmy wiped away a sweat from his brow.

"Tell me about it." Johnny agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." Kokichi rolled his eyes before turning to Surly with a sneaky grin. "So how many nuts we talking here?"

"We're talking almonds, pistachios, walnuts, Brazils...and enough cashews to buy yourselves a racetrack." Surly explained, poking Buddy on the stomach, making the blue rat smile. Everyone looked at him with surprised looks.

"Oh my goodness!" Mole gasped.

"Well, I checked in it and saw how many nuts they are. So they aren't lying." Andie stated.

"Shut. Up." Kokichi said, shocked to hear this many nuts. "That's amazing."

"And did we mention the peanut brittle?" Todd asked, furthering surprising everyone.

Johnny put his paw on his brother's chest and looked at him with a surprised look and asked "That a candy or a nut?"

Surly started laughing before answering "Both."

Everyone jaw-dropped upon hearing this, realizing what a peanut brittle is. Mole recovered from the shock as he nudged Jamie on the arm, chuckling a bit.

"Huh...guess they never heard a peanut brittle before." Todd wondered.

"Nah, I'm more of a Reese's guy. Those things taste amazing!" Kokichi smirked.

"Riiiight..." Todd gave him another weird look, unable to comprehend the weirdness from this guy.

"So, what do you guys say? You in or not want the park to survive the winter?" Surly smirked. "Because if so, then I totally understand."

"No! We're in!" Andie said in a determined and serious expression. "I don't care what happens to me, I'll get these nuts back to the park no matter what."

Todd rolled his eyes, wondering if Andie is saying this from the 'bottom of her heart'.

"Anyway..." Jimmy spoke up. "It's going to be a problem down because it might take long on finding the right hole, so we're gonna need a volunteer to help us out."

"A volunteer?" Todd asked while the others were frightened by this.

"Well..um..." Andie looked away, sweat-dropping a little.

"Don't look at me! I ain't doing it!" Surly exclaimed while Buddy immediately shook his head in fear. Todd looked around the group, wondering what's wrong with them.

"Guys, guys, let's all calm down for a moment. I have a very simple way on how we can solve this." Kokichi offered as he held a bunch of straws in his paws. "We'll draw straws! Whoever has the shortest one has to go and help out the Bruisers."

"That seems fair enough, right?" Andie smiled weakly while Todd sighed and decided to go first.

"Yeah, I guess so." Todd shrugged before picking a straw, and it seemed to be a medium size. Soon, Surly, Andie, Buddy, and Mole picked their straws, all having large straws while Kokichi was left alone with a small straw.

"What?!" Kokichi gasped.

"Huh...guess you were unlucky on that Koki." Todd smirked. "Seems ironic for someone who came with this idea to end up as the one helping out."

"Yeah...I guess so." Kokichi chuckled.

"What?! Okay, please tell me this is a joke!" Jamie exclaimed in anger and shock.

"Sorry sis, guess we'll work with him." Johnny shrugged while Jimmy smirked at his sister and said "And besides, your boyfriend may be insane, but he's very helpful."

"S-shut up!" Jamie exclaimed, blushing a bit while her brothers started laughing at her.

"W-what? You don't want my help Miss Jamie? But I thought we were friends." Kokichi asked with a sad look, tears coming down as he began dramatically crying. "WAAAAHAAAAHAAA! YOU'RE SO MEAN!"

"Alright alright, fine!" Jamie sighed. "You can help us. Don't come crying to me whenever my brothers does something stupid down there."

Kokichi soon dropped the tears and snot away as he let out a smile and says "Okay."

"...How does he do that?" Todd wondered, causing Surly to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean Todd?" Surly asked.

"Well I mean, how does he exactly wiped away those tears and his snot that fast?"

"Yeah...I always asked that, but forget to ask. Plus, I don't really pay attention with him that much." Surly said in a deadpan expression.

"Yeah...you make a good point." Todd nodded while looking at Kokichi with a questionable look. _"Just...what's even wrong with this squirrel? Is he acting out like this on purpose or something?"_ Todd thought.

"Alright everyone, break time's over! Time to get to work!" Surly exclaimed, which everyone nodded as they began to work on their heist.

* * *

 ** _One Hour Later_**

The Bruisers and Kokichi were digging through several holes, only that leads them to several dead ends. They were digging their seventh hole that might be a possibility that can lead them down to the basement. Andie, Mole, and Todd looked down through the hole where the Bruisers and Kokichi were digging, wondering what's taking so long down there.

"Fire in the hole!" Jimmy yelled as a loud fart was heard through the hole and some coughs coming from Jamie and Kokichi while the brothers laughed. Todd waved it off with a disgust look and let out a shiver.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Jamie exclaimed, coming out of the hole with an angered look.

"I'm actually glad that I'm not down there with those guys..." Todd muttered.

"Hey! I heard that!" Kokichi complained, coming out of the hole with a laundry clip on his nose, using it to avoid the smells down the cave. "At least you're not down here with those stinky losers, but at least Miss Jamie smells nice as a tree."

"Well it's your own fault for joining with them because you wanted to impress your 'supposed girlfriend'." Todd rolled his eyes, causing Kokichi to realize that.

"Right...dang it." Kokichi muttered.

"What's even going on down...WHOA!" Mole breathed in the smell as he immediately collapsed, unable to handle it. Todd widened his eyes and realized how lucky it was to not be down there. Well except for Kokichi because Todd thought that this white squirrel was enjoying his time with being this close to Jamie.

Surly rolled his eyes, annoyed with the Bruiser's tactics as Jamie yelled down through the hole and said "It's the same thing every time! We keep running into this hard brick-colored substance!"

"Do you mean...brick?" Andie asked with a raised brow. Johnny came out of the hole and said "We can't speculate on what is or isn't brick, but suffice to say, this material has a high number of brick-like properties."

"But it is brick, but you're right about that." Todd shrugged with a confused look. Suddenly, they heard another fart down through the hole, much to Johnny's anger.

"Okay! Cut it out! Who is that?!" Johnny demanded, going back into the hole. Todd covered his nose, not wanting to breath into the air.

"I-I guess there's no other choice." Andie sighed, which Todd nodded in agreement.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" Jimmy spoke up.

"We're not falling for it again!" Jamie exclaimed, not wanting her brother to pull off another prank...again.

"Yeah, I'm starting to grow dizzy right now from all those farts." Kokichi coughed.

"No no, I'm serious this time! There's a loose brick down here!" Andie and Todd looked at each other in surprise, along with Mole, who managed to pull himself together after breathing through the Bruiser's farts. While Andie and Mole were distracted, Todd noticed Surly walking over to see what's happening. Suddenly, they both heard the door cling open and became surprise to see Precious was the one opening it.

Surly and Todd looked at each other and nodded before backing away quietly, not wanting to draw any attention from them as they met up with Precious.

"Hey." Precious greeted them as Surly looks down with a serious expression. "Wait...was this thing opened the entire time?!" Surly asked in shock.

"I don't know! I just got here." Precious replied.

"Wait, but I thought you said the door was locked?" Todd asked, looking at Surly with a confused look. Surly rubbed his head bashfully, sweat-dropping a little as he replied "Well...I assumed it was lock because I thought the humans might've noticed it unlocked and so locked it back up."

"Well I don't blame ya, though I'm confused on what are they doing with that giant hole on the wall..." Todd wondered.

"Doesn't matter, what matters is getting those nuts." Surly said with a cocky smirk.

"Hey wait, what about those face-licks you guys promised yesterday?" Precious asked.

"Lick yourself, let's go." Surly said, grabbing ahold of Precious's collar as soon as Buddy came over to help out as well. Surly look at Todd and said "So you coming Todd or do you want them out?"

Todd was about to answer until he remembered what Andie did to Surly yesterday, nearly threatening his own life. Todd looked back at Andie with a glare before looking back at Surly with a smirk and replied "Absolutely!"

"Good answer! Now let's move it!" Surly exclaimed as he and Todd, along with Precious, entered through the door as it made a loud clanking sound. Andie heard it and looked over at the metal gate, noticing Buddy. Buddy looks back and makes a sheepish smile, trying not to give it away that Surly and Todd were already inside the basement before them...not that he could say anything.

Meanwhile, Surly and Todd were gathering nuts as he and Surly were stuffing them inside a bag until they started to hear voices coming from the walls. They looked over to see a brick wall being slowly pushed out, meaning that the Bruisers and Kokichi were nearly done making it through the hole.

Surly and Todd smirked at them as the former said "Yeah, keep on going you guys. You're doing great. Yeah, that's what I call the power of...what's that word again?"

"Teamwork?" Todd corrected him.

"Right! Teamwork!" Surly laughed as they continued to pick up some nuts. While they collected some nuts, the Bruisers kept pushing the brick out of the way as it made contact with a nearby shovel on the wall, causing it to spark and ignite a TNT dynamite, which Todd and Surly didn't noticed.

"So Surly...what are we gonna do now after finishing collecting these nuts?" Todd asked curiously.

"Easy, we hide these nuts somewhere where those park suckers won't be able to find. Then as soon as they got enough nuts to feed the entire park, we'll come back tonight and steal as many nuts as possible before them." Surly explained.

"Hmm...okay." Todd nodded as they finally finished collecting some of the nuts of the basement the moment Buddy arrived. Buddy then noticed something that caught his eye, the lit-up dynamite, much to his shock. Buddy immediately rushed over to Surly and Todd and started shaking them.

"Buddy, what is it?" Todd asked in concern as he pointed to the dynamite, which they finally noticed lit-up dynamite.

"AAAAAHH!" Todd and Surly screamed as Todd turned to Surly and exclaimed "Quick Surly! Do something!"

"Don't worry! I got this!" Surly immediately picked it up and threw it away, much to their relief. Surly and Buddy smiled and shook their hands while Surly ruffled the fox squirrel's hair a bit, causing him to giggle. Suddenly, they saw the dynamite right in front of their eyes as they slowly turned around to find out that Precious was the one holding it in her teeth.

"Hey guys, look at what I found!" Precious exclaimed happily as Todd face-pawed himself, Surly widened his eyes in shock, and Buddy falling unconscious.

"What are you doing?! That's a TNT stick you got!" Todd exclaimed.

"Todd's right! Now let go of that!" Surly demanded, grabbing ahold of the stick, only for Precious to pull it away from him.

"I can't!" Precious replied, much to Surly's annoyance.

"Let go of that stick!"

"Yeah or else we'll all get blown away! Literally!" Todd added as he also helped Surly get the stick of TNT out of his mouth. "Now please let it go!"

"I can't!"

"LET. GO. OF. THIS. STICK!" Surly yelled as he and Todd managed to get it out of her mouth. Precious felt irritated that they took it away from her as she said "Oh alright. Fine, you didn't have to be rude about it."

"Yeah but, like I said, we'll get blown to bits!" Todd exclaimed. "Now throw it away Surly before it's too late!"

"With pleasure!" Surly nodded as he was about to throw it away until they saw a brick falling out of the wall, revealing Jimmy and Kokichi.

"Hey Surly! Todd!" Jimmy smiled at them as Kokichi waved and said "Hey! What we miss? How exactly did you guys...get...down...here?"

Kokichi soon noticed the stick of TNT, much to his shock. "OH, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING-"

BOOM!

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" Jimmy, Johnny, and Kokichi were launched out of the hole while Jamie exited out of the hole right before the explosion. They landed onto the top of the van as the others looked up in shock and surprise.

"Ow..." Kokichi groaned. Johnny turned his brother, who was still shocked by what happened as he asked "What you had for breakfast?"

"I don't wanna know..." Kokichi muttered. Suddenly, Andie's ears' perked up as she turned around to the small hole the Bruisers and Kokichi were blown out of as a bag of nuts popped right out of there, along with an exhausted Surly, Buddy, and Todd.

"Ah! You brought nuts!" Andie said with a happy grin. The others became excited to hear this as they looked at Surly, Buddy, and Todd with grins and smiles.

"Woo-hoo!" Mole cheered.

"Way to go Surly!" Jamie added.

Surly, Buddy, and Todd looked at each other, surprised that they're praising him.

"Well...at least they're thanking you for once." Todd smiled.

"Yeah, seems so." Surly shrugged as they were suddenly pushed out of the hole by none other than Precious, who seemed to be panicking.

"I'm dead!" Precious exclaimed, much to the group's shock as they immediately ran away and hid behind the car, except Mole because as he tried to escape, he instead ran into the van's wheel, knocking him out. "They're gonna send me back to the pound! You gotta do something! Please! I'll do whatever you say! I'll do anything!"

Surly and Todd looked at each other before they looked back at the other's, who were still hiding behind the van in fear.

"Why do I have the feeling that this might be helpful?" Todd asked with a smirk.

"Because it might be something we can use for the heist." Surly smirked back as they have an advantage that they could use for the heist.

* * *

After the explosion occurred, the robbers either came downstairs or out of the hole to find out what happened.

"What happened here?! I want some answers now!" King demanded, grabbing Finger's shirt collar. Soon, he noticed something behind them as he said "Whoa, say fellas. Look!"

Fingers pointed towards Precious, who was holding the seemingly dead Surly and Todd in her mouth. Before they came downstairs, Surly and Todd agreed to help Precious with her problems by pretending to be dead and caught by her.

"Those squirrels were trying to blow up the nut store, and Precious stopped him!" Fingers exclaimed happily as he went over and petted Precious on the head. "Can you believe it? Good pup! Good pup!"

"What's wrong with you?!" Lucky slapped him on the back of the head, much to Finger's anger.

King soon noticed the metal gate was unlocked and opened up as he turned back to his subordinates and exclaimed "Get that wall cemented up! I want that door closed shut for good!"

He then looked down at Precious and said "And get that mutt a treat."

Precious formed a big smile while Surly and Todd opened their eyes and winked at her before falling back, pretending to be dead.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

As the animals were hiding on top of the van, Lucky and Fingers sealed the recently made holes the Bruisers and Kokichi made.

"You know, that dog is one smart dog." Fingers commented.

"She's smarter than you!" Lucky argued.

"She's smarter than you!" Fingers retorted.

"No one's smarter than me."

"No one's smarter than you."

They paused upon seeing Knuckles outside, holding both Surly and Todd by the tail.

"That's right!" Lucky nodded as Fingers said "Right! I'm glad we're in agreement, for once."

"Of course!" Lucky said before they both headed back into the nut shop. Knuckles walked over to dispose both Surly and Todd into the trashcan but felt like he was being watched (Which were the animals), so he turned around and saw nothing, so he decided to put that thought away and threw both Surly and Todd into the trash and walked away. As the animals watched him leave, both Todd and Surly managed to push the trashcan out of the way, and got out.

"Phew, that was a doozy." Todd said, wiping a sweat off his brow. "I'm glad we got Precious off the hook and her approval."

"Same here Todd." Surly nodded as he picked up the chalk and began writing something on the wall. The others came down from the van and walked over to them, wondering what they're up too now.

"Surly? Todd?" Andie called for them.

"This trashcan has a hole in it." Surly spoke up, pointing to the hole in the trashcan. Andie inspected it, curious to know where this was going. "We'll use it as a cover to dig a new hole into the human hole. No brick."

"That's not a bad idea." Todd thought aloud with a smile. "That's great! With that, those humans will never know what hit them!"

"Ah ha! Yeah! Now that's groundhog thinking right there!" Jimmy said, nudging his brother a bit.

"Okay, so how long will it take?" Andie asked curiously.

"Day or two depending any rocks or pipes we come across." Jimmy proposed, much to his brother's irritation.

"It'll be three days." Johnny said, angering Jimmy as he put his paw on his brother's chest.

"No, it'll be two days!"

"Three!"

"You wanna take this someplace else?" Jimmy pounced at his brother and began fighting each other, much to everyone's annoyance.

"Does this always happen?" Todd asked Jamie, who sighed and replied "Every time...but you get used to it."

"Just like you and me, Miss Jamie." Kokichi said with a smirk on his face, causing Jamie to glare at him.

"Shut up Kokichi." Jamie demanded, which Kokichi nodded.

"Well it'll never work!" Mole exclaimed, much to Todd's confusion.

"And why's that?" Todd asked. "I mean, with an idea like that, I think we might have a chance."

"Well...you n-need Raccoon's approval!" Mole explained.

"Raccoon's approval?!" Todd exclaimed in disbelief. He needs an approval from THAT guy!? "You kidding me?! There's no way he'll accept this idea!"

Jamie pushed Mole aside and smiles in joy as she says "You kidding me? Raccoon is totally gonna love this idea!"

Todd sighed before noticing Surly feeling sad and anger.

"Surly?" Todd called for him, but Surly didn't hear him out as he said "Raccoon...guy's not even here and he's still able to ruin my life as always."

Surly then began climbing up the pipe gutter as Todd began following after him. Andie looks up with worried and sadness, wondering if she should confront him or not.

"You should go." Kokichi offered, much to Andie's surprise. "I mean, you need to tell them what Raccoon's going to do after the heist."

"...Okay." Andie sighed as she began climbing up the gutter. Meanwhile, as Todd climbed up to the rooftop, he saw Surly walking back and forth with Buddy watching him with worried and concern. Todd walked over and asked Buddy "Hey, what's wrong with Surly?"

Buddy rubbed his arm nervously as Surly exclaimed "What's wrong, you ask? I'll tell what's wrong! It's Raccoon!"

"Huh? Raccoon?" Todd asked in surprise. "Well, I know you two don't like each other."

"It's not that I don't like or hate him! He always hated me since before I ever became a thief." Surly said. "I mean, those idiots down there! The nerve of those bums! 'Oh Raccoon would approve of this!' Oh really? Raccoon! That guy, he's a bigger thief than I am!"

"Wait, what?" Todd asked in shock. "So...Raccoon is a thief?!"

"Exactly! That fool may have fooled everyone, but he can't fool me!" Surly exclaimed. "Why? Because I'm the one with the brains in this operation! I'm the...brains of this group! Did I say that already?"

"Yeah, you did." Todd nodded.

"Whatever! I can see through his lies! Raccoon is nothing more than a lying sack of fur! Why can't anyone see that?!" Surly demanded, looking at both Todd and Buddy with anger.

"Surly, calm down. I understand how you feel." Todd soothed. "Look, even I don't like Raccoon when he gave me that punishment the other day. I knew there was something off with him, but I never knew that he was a thief."

Buddy nodded as he let out a smile and handed him his dog whistle, which Surly snatched it from as he walked over and put his head on the ledge of the ground with an upset look. Buddy and Todd looked at him with worried, causing him to turn his head around. Buddy walked over to the otherside and softly smiled at him, causing Surly to feel...relaxed. Todd walked over and hugged him, catching Surly by surprise.

"Listen Surly, I know how it feels to not have anyone by your side. Truth be told, I never had anyone except my mom on my side." Todd explained, feeling sadden on remembering the times back when he was still human. Surly and Buddy looked at him in surprise as Todd continued "I always believed that I need to stand and fight alone without anyone's help, but going through this heist with you, I learned that I'm not alone because..." Todd looked at Surly with a smile and said "I have you guys."

Surly smiled at him while Buddy looked at Todd sympathetically, feeling sorry for the boy. Who knew that the fox squirrel felt so alone just like Surly. Surly hugged Todd back, catching the fox squirrel by surprise, but soon recovered as he hugged him back, making Buddy feel happy that Surly is hugging him, finally acknowledging him at least.

"Surly? Todd? You guys got a minute?" They looked behind them to see Andie looking at them with a surprised and concern expression on her face.

"H-huh? Oh...uh..." Surly looked over at Todd, feeling embarrassed that Andie is seeing him like this.

"Riiiight...Sorry." Todd chuckled nervously as they backed away from each other as Surly regained his cool before putting the dog whistle around his back and looked at Andie with a serious look.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping the others with that tunnel?" Surly asked.

"Well more like it's the Bruisers and Kokichi since they are groundhogs and Kokichi lost the draw straws contest, so...she isn't doing much." Todd shrugged.

"Yeah...anyway, there's something I have to tell you." Andie said as Surly turned around and looked back with Todd seeing his serious look.

"Uh-huh..." Surly replied, not interested to hear her out.

Andie took a deep breath and said "Raccoon is planning to double cross you guys."

Todd widened his eyes in shock, hearing that Raccoon would do something like that. Surly glanced at her with a betrayed look before walking off.

"We were all in on it! I'm sorry! I-It's just that-"

"Look." Surly looked at her with a hard look on his face. "Raccoon has always been out for me since I was a kit. He never cared nor like me ever since. Besides...who says I'm helping?"

"But you are helping...right?" Andie asked in worried as both Todd and Buddy looked at each other in concern for these two.

"I'm helping...myself." Surly smirked at her, shocking Andie. She soon made a serious look and replied "Fine...have it your way."

Surly became surprised as she began walking away in anger. Before she took her leave, she looked back and said "But just remember that this nut store can help everyone survive the winter."

"Just leave Andie." Todd said, not wanting to see anymore. "Look, Surly says that he's helping himself and that's it. Now go and stop nagging us."

Andie became surprised to hear Todd say that before remembering what she did yesterday to lose his trust. Andie sighed and nodded before she began to take her leave. While climbing down the gutter, she formed a sad look.

 _"Todd...you've changed. It's not because of what I did yesterday, it's because you don't trust any of us except Surly and Buddy. So...why them?"_ Andie thought as she climbed down through the gutter. Todd looked down to see her on the ground and began taking her leave with Jamie and Mole while Johnny and Jimmy were busy on fixing the hole on the ground. Todd sighed and looked back at Surly, who decided to go and think for himself.

Todd sighed and wanted to go talk to Surly when suddenly...

"Ooh, poor Andie. So sad that you two aren't besties anymore." Todd widened his eyes before looking around to see someone hiding behind the shadows. The figure walked out of the shadows, revealing it to be Kokichi with a big smirk on his face.

"Koki...what do you want?" Todd demanded, not eager to talk with him.

"Koki? That's a nice nickname you gave to me." Kokichi chuckled. "Ooh, that's just show that you do like me as a friend."

"Yeah...no." Todd shook his head. "I-I was just thinking of something to call you, that's all."

'Yeah, sure you did." Kokichi rolled his eyes in full sarcasm before asking "But I gotta say, I feel bad for Andie. For you to tell her to leave, I feel sorry for her. After all, she just wanted to tell you guys the truth in hopes of making up with you."

"Make up with us? Yeah, that's a laugh." Todd rolled his eyes, not believing a single word of that.

"No, it's the truth. She just wanted to help, that's all." Kokichi said with a serious expression before darkening his face. "Which is ironic since...nobody helped her in the past."

"What?" Todd asked in confusion.

Kokichi looked at him sadly, feeling a little pale as he said "Back then, poor old Andie was an orphan, she lost her parents from an accident in the past. Raccoon took her in and raised her as his little protege. Since then, she became the mother-hen of the park, helping others out, but nobody ever helped her at anything."

"But didn't Raccoon take her in? I'm sure he helped her out since then." Todd suggested, but Kokichi shook his head.

"No...as Park Leader, he was too busy to help raise her, so she did things herself and took care of herself. It's so sad to even think of that, she was always willing to help out anyone, but in return, nobody ever helped her. I can even tell that when she kept refusing help from Grayson. Not because he's an idiot and gets annoyed with him every time she's around with him, but because she thinks she can do anything with no one's help. She was even forced to helped out everyone in this heist by Raccoon and watched over you and Surly in case you guys did something that might affect her."

"W-what do you mean?" Todd asked in worried.

"In other words, if you and Surly did something to ruin this heist..." Kokichi pulled off a dark and creepy grin at Todd, which frightened him as he exclaimed "Then Andie shall be punished! A punishment that's far worse than Surly getting banished!"

Todd widened his eyes, realizing that Andie is being blackmailed by this. Just what is Raccoon planning?

"So anyway, I'm just wasting your precious time. I gotta go, and I hope you heed my words." Kokichi grinned.

"Wait...why are you telling me this?" Todd asked curiously.

"Eh? Oh that...just a heads-up." Kokichi said before taking his leave.

Todd raised a brow, wondering why Kokichi would help out. From what he was told, Kokichi doesn't care about what he does nor the consequences of his actions, so why help him?

 _"Kokichi...what are you hiding?"_ Todd wondered.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Back at Liberty Park, Andie and Jamie were handing some nuts to the fellow park animals. They were joyed to finally get something to eat for once. Unbeknownst to any of them, Raccoon was looking at them through the mill, as he was angered to see Andie handing them the nuts.

"I didn't authorize any hands out, now did I?" Raccoon asked himself.

"Oh, you know Andie. Always so ignorant." Mole said as he was looking over the draw to find his special dark sunglasses.

"Looking for these?" Raccoon asked, taking out the sunglasses out of his fur. Mole smiled brightly as he took it from Raccoon's paw. "I know Andie. She lacks obedience. Can't follow orders."

"But she follows Surly." Mole pointed out, which peeked Raccoon's interest. "You know, he even tamed that guard dog? He could actually pull this off."

Raccoon snapped his fingers, signaling Cardinal to steal Mole's sunglasses, much to his shock. Cardinal flew over and held the sunglasses in his beak.

"The day Surly saves this park is the day nuts will rain from the skies!" Raccoon exclaimed angrily, frightening Mole a bit. "Hmm..." Raccoon thought for a minute before making a smirk on his face. "There could be an accident."

Cardinal spat out the glasses to a draw filled with many shiny objects, presumably Raccoon's collections. Mole tried to grab the sunglasses, but Cardinal used his talons to slide the draw closed while crushing Mole's claws in the process.

"AHHHHH!" Mole screamed in pain.

"Have you thought of sabotage?" Raccoon proposed, unfazed by Mole's screaming.

"W-what's your problem?!" Mole demanded angrily. "It's only Surly! A two-bit trashcan thief!"

"It's not about thievery! It's about that food getting into that park!" Raccoon explained before letting out a sigh and looked at Mole with a serious expression. "Have you forgotten about my motto?"

Mole shook his head as he and Raccoon said it in unison: "Animals are controlled by the amount of food they have. It is our duty to keep it from them."

"Good." Raccoon smiled darkly as he asked "Now where were we? Ah yes. Sabotage."

"Yeah, sabotage." Mole chuckled before realizing something. "Um...what is that, french or something?"

"Just shut up and get to ruining that heist." Raccoon demanded before remembering Todd was with them and Kokichi was nowhere to be seen, presumably minding his own business or...keeping an eye out on him. "Oh, and keep an eye out for Todd. I have a feeling that troublesome fox squirrel might be on to me, along with that white squirrel."

"What? Kokichi?" Mole questioned. "He's nothing more than an insane psychotic trickster."

"True, but I have a feeling that he's been keeping a suspicious eye out for me." Raccoon said. "Besides, from what I can tell, he knows how to hide his feelings from all those crazy things he's been doing over the years and very good at figuring out people's lies. So please keep an eye out for him and Todd, and if they tried to stop us from the heist..." Raccoon formed a dark smile at him and says "Take them out of the picture."

Soon, Raccoon began laughing evilly with Mole laughing alongside him before asking "Why are we laughing?"

Unbeknownst to them, Kokichi was watching them from up on the broken rooftop of the Mill with a smirk on his face.

"Heh heh...Oh Raccoon, you seriously are gonna try to get rid of me when I have a plan of my own to go through. Jeez, this guy is just insanely bad. Wonder why Liam Neeson ever voiced him?...Oh right, because he's Liam Neeson and he can practically do anything." Kokichi rolled his eyes. "But I better keep my eye on him and Mole for now. This could work on my advantage to get them closer than ever and get rid of this insane bozo. I still can't believe nobody ever suspected him before. I mean, he's a Raccoon. I mean, don't they count as thieves or something? God I'll never understand logic these days."

With that, Kokichi takes his leave back to the nut shop as they are about learn about the darkness of the heart of Liberty Park.

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	9. Chapter 8 - Everything Falls Apart

**_Note: The Nut Job belongs to Global Road Entertainment and all characters belong to their respective creators, but Todd Lloyd belongs to me and Dusk19._**

Meanwhile, back at the Nut Shop. Surly was seen gazing over Liberty Park, trying to clear his head from the conversation he had earlier.

 _"So Raccoon was planning on betraying me, along with those guys. I knew it was fishy when some of them complimented me when we got those nuts out of the basement. Still though, Andie has the guts to tell me his plan. Hmph, I don't why I even bother...but still...is what I said right? I'm doing this myself? I mean, I have Buddy and Todd by my side and from what he told me about a little bit of his life, he had no one by his side. I guess we really do have something in common..._ " Surly thought, forming a small grin on his face.

Todd was seen on the rooftop as well, looking over his father figure with concern. Ever since that conversation he had with Andie, Surly began thinking about things and Todd kept wondering what was in the purple squirrel's mind.

 _"It's been several days since I got turned into a fox squirrel and I've been helping Surly and Buddy out in this heist. You know, it's been fun doing all this stuff with him. Surly's lucky that he got me helping out besides the park. I knew it would be the right choice helping a thief hero like him. Once we got enough nuts that can feed us for the entire winter, I'll try and convince Surly to share some of the nuts at the park, that way they'll know that there is good inside him and let him back in the park. Heck, maybe even be treated as a hero like Grayson."_ Todd thought before chuckling a bit.

"Huh? What are you laughing about?" Surly asked, turning back at the fox squirrel in confusion.

"Oh sorry, just thinking some things. Sorry if I disturb you." Todd apologized.

"Nah, it's okay. I wasn't thinking much." Surly sighed before smiling at him. "You know, you helped me out a lot Todd, and I thank you for that."

"Yeah, and it was even fun teaming up with you and helping you out in this heist." Todd smiled. "We make a pretty good team, eh?"

"Yeah...not that I'll admit." Surly said, glancing away while Todd noticed that he was blushing, implying that Surly really did think of him, Buddy, and himself as a great team. He was just too stubborn to admit it. Todd softly grinned at the purple squirrel until his ears perked up, hearing something coming down from where the hole is being made.

"You heard that too, huh?" Surly asked.

"Yeah, it sounded like it was coming down there." Todd pointed as they both looked down and saw Mole grabbing a hose and placing it down the hole where the Bruisers and Kokichi were in. What's weird is that Cardinal was there too.

"What are you up to, Mole?" Surly wondered.

"Yeah, and why is he putting a hose inside of that hole?" Todd thought as well. _"Wait, he isn't doing what I think he's doing, right?"_

While Surly and Todd were spying on Mole and Cardinal, a familiar gray squirrel appeared right next to Surly, which he noticed.

"AHHHH!" Surly gasped while Grayson screamed in fear.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! WAAAHHHHH!" Grayson immediately backed away and whimpered in fear.

"G-Grayson?!" Todd widened his eyes in shock upon seeing him.

"Surly? Todd?" Grayson narrowed his eyes a bit, trying to see if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him until he realized that it was really them. Grayson immediately got up and immediately hugged Surly in a tight hug. "Oh Surly! Thank goodness I found you!"

"H-hey! Let go of me you idiot!" Surly exclaimed.

"I don't believe it, you're alive?" Todd asked, looking at him in shock.

"Of course I am! What kind of park hero would I be if I didn't survive? And how am I glad to survive out in that city!" Grayson replied, letting go of Surly and hugging Todd. "Oh! I'm so glad that you're alright!...Wait..." Grayson looked at Todd with a raised brow. "What are you doing here with Surly? Is he kidnapping you again?"

"What?! No!" Todd pushed him off while glaring at him. "Of course not! I'm helping him out in the heist!"

"He's right!" Surly nodded in agreement, glaring at the gray squirrel. "Now tell me! What's going on with you? What's wrong with you?"

"Everything is wrong with me!" Grayson exclaimed, getting close to Surly's face as he exclaiming "I've been out there in the city! With all the cars, the dogs, the cats, the people, and the..." Grayson paused upon seeing Buddy, who was busy eating on a peanut. "RAT! IT'S A RAT!"

"Calm down Grayson!" Todd assured. "It's just Buddy! He isn't dangerous!"

Grayson ignored him as he immediately jumped onto Surly's arms as he exclaimed "Hold me! No, I'll hold onto you!"

"H-hey!" Surly exclaimed.

"Stop that Grayson!" Todd exclaimed while thinking about how freaked out Grayson was feeling. He never see him this cowardly before despite being the park hero.

"Grayson, you moron! Let go of me! You're gonna drown me..." Surly paused before slowly back at the ground with a shocked look. "Drowned! That Mole is gonna drown the Bruisers and Kokichi!"

"What?!" Todd gasped, realizing what Mole is planning to do. "W-why would he do that?!"

"If I had to guess, I know one guy who would make him do this." Surly said in a serious look on his face before shoving Grayson to the ground. Surly then turned to Buddy and said "Buddy! Stay here and watch Grayson over! And make sure he doesn't touch anything sharp!"

"Wait what?" Todd asked in confusion. "Doesn't touch anything sharp?"

"Yeah, I'll explain that later. Right now, we need to stop Mole!" Surly exclaimed.

"Okay! Let's go!" Todd said in determination before he and Surly climbed down through the gutter and came across Mole, who kept turning the knob to the hose on.

"Mole! What do you think you're doing?!" Surly demanded, frightening Mole as he fell off the knob.

"Don't worry! I got it!" Todd said as he jumped onto the hose's knob and attempted to turn it off, but as he kept pulling it, he accidentally caused the knob to break before falling off. Surly caught him and saw the knob was in Todd's paw.

"Uh oh..." Surly muttered as he put Todd down.

"D-don't worry, we'll get those hose out of there as long as we-" Unfortunately, Todd stopped the moment he saw Cardinal looking down at both him and Surly. "Well this is bad."

"You said it." Surly agreed.

Later, Precious was seen inside the nut shop, gnawing on a bone. While chewing on it, she saw something out on the window, seeing both Todd and Surly getting attacked by the red bird.

"H-hey dog! Help! Help!" Surly called for her while dodging Cardinal's attacks.

"Precious! We need you! GAH! Stay away you dumb bird!" Todd exclaimed before ducking for cover from an aerial dive from Cardinal. Precious looks at this with shock as her bone drops on the ground before walking over to King, who was busy talking on the phone with Lana.

"Yeah, we're doing alright. W-we're just umm...huh?" King noticed Precious as she lifts her left leg, which King knew what she wants. "Potty break? Now?!"

King immediately opens the door, letting Precious go out to take a potty break. Unfortunately for him, Precious didn't need a potty break, she only lied in order to save her friends. As Surly and Todd were getting pecked by Cardinal, Precious pounced at the red bird, eating her.

"Okay...that's one way to deal with an angry bird." Todd said in surprise as Precious got up and has some bird feathers in her mouth. "Hey Precious, you okay?"

Precious nodded until her mouth started moving as Cardinal was trying its best to get out of her mouth as he forcefully slammed her into a pole, causing her to spat him out. Cardinal squawked at them before getting hit by a truck, much to the fox squirrel's shock.

"Is...Is he gonna be okay?" Todd asked in concern. That bird may be bad, but even he doesn't to get killed.

"Nah, he'll be alright. Trust me, I know this by experience." Surly assured before turning to Precious. "Anyway, Precious, we need you to go over the alleyway and stop the water!"

"Stop the water! Got it!" Precious nodded as she was about to leave until she stopped and glare at them. "Hey...you guys aren't the boss of me?"

Surly shoved the dog whistle in front of her, realizing that he could blow it anytime he wants. "R-right! You got it! I love you bosses!"

Precious immediately headed into the alleyway and began grabbing the hose out of the hole, stopping the water while Mole hid behind the van in fear.

"You think she'll stop it in time?" Todd asked in worried.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she will. Right now, we got bigger problems to take care of! Follow me!" Surly exclaimed as he and Todd headed towards the front entrance of the nut shop, seeing the door a little bit opened. As they entered, they saw the basement door.

"The door!" Todd pointed out.

"Yeah..." Surly nodded as they prepared to run straight towards the door. "Surly...just what do you think you're doing?"

"Doing something crazy, that's what." Todd smiled, cheering Surly up a bit as they both ran straight towards the door, catching both King and Knuckles' attention.

"Shoot those rodents!" King ordered as Knuckles took out his gun and began shooting them, shooting a hole onto the bottom of the door, which Todd and Surly entered.

"Thanks!" Todd shouted as they immediately raced downstairs and into the basement, and found the entire place flooded. "What the?! What happened here?!" Todd exclaimed.

"Something tells me that it came from the hole." Surly deduced before noticing Johnny and Jimmy floating down through the water. "Johnny! Jimmy!"

"Okay, but where's Kokichi? I thought that he was in the hole helping them out?!" Todd asked in concern.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter! Let's just get them out of there before the humans find us out!" Surly exclaimed, but Todd felt hesitate that Kokichi wasn't around. They immediately grabbed Johnny and Jimmy onto the small elevator as they exited them out of the metal gate before any of the human robbers showed up.

Surly and Todd came out of the hole as they began pushing their hands into the Bruiser's chest, pumping water out of their bodies.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Precious asked in worried.

"Oh relax, they'll be fine." Surly assured as he managed to get water out of Jimmy's body.

"Yeah, I know they'll make it out alive..." Todd sighed before saying "Though, I just hope Kokichi is alright."

"Alright of what?" They immediately turned around to see Kokichi eating a piece of nut in his paw.

"Kokichi?!" Todd gasped as he immediately ran up and hugged him, catching him by surprise.

"Umm...did I miss something? And why does the Bruiser looked like they got drowned?" Kokichi asked.

"Yeah! It was Mole! That two-timing old fool did this!" Surly exclaimed.

"Of course it was him. After all, your old 'friend' hired him to sabotage the heist, after all." Kokichi chuckled, which confused Todd.

"Old friend? What are you talking about?" Todd asked. Meanwhile, Mole overheard their conversation and grew afraid that they might find him out as he began to make his escape until he accidentally crashed into the metal gate, causing him to fall over.

"Ooh, that guy really needs glasses." Precious said, wincing in pain before Mole began making his escape.

"You guys should totally go after him. I mean, he might know something important." Kokichi said with a smile.

"Wait, what about you?" Todd asked in suspicion.

"Don't worry, leave it to me to watch over those doofus's." Kokichi assured.

"Are...you sure about this?" Kokichi ignored Todd and went over to help Johnny and Jimmy. "Well never mind. Come on Surly, let's go after Mole!" Todd exclaimed in determination.

"Right behind ya Todd!" Surly nodded before turning Precious. "Precious! Go after him!"

"On it!" Precious nodded before running and crawling underneath the metal gate, chasing after Mole, with Surly and Todd following after her.

"Nee-hee-hee..." Kokichi chuckled. "You know, this plan is very exciting and totally not boring at all. I really gotta thank him for giving this kind of mission to help poor old Toddy out along with Surly. Besides, who knew using these bad situations into my advantage was great. This will bring Todd and Surly more closer than ever in order to bring hope back to Liberty Park." Kokichi smiled evilly as his face darkened before saying "So Todd, will you be able to bring hope back to Surly along with the rest of the park? Guess we'll find out..."

Suddenly, he heard a scream before side-stepping as Grayson landed on top of Johnny's belly, causing him to spat out water out of his gut.

"Phew, that was a close one." Kokichi said before realizing that it was Grayson. "Oh god dang it..."

"K-Kokichi!" Grayson immediately wrapped his arms around Kokichi, much to his annoyance. "P-please help me! There's a rat up there and I'm really-"

"Man, shut it! Ugh, why do I even bother with you? You know, I prefer Brendan Fraser over you anytime." Kokichi rolled his eyes before noticing Johnny and Jimmy slowly waking up.

"What?...Kokichi? Grayson?" Jimmy muttered, seeing the two here.

"Oh good morning sleepyheads, how its going?" Kokichi chuckled, smiling towards them.

"Oh shut the front door!" Grayson laughed, relieved to see them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here because of the heist so we can grabbed as many nuts to get for the park." Johnny answered, trying to get some water out of his ear. "But what happened? All I remember was that Kokichi left the cave to do some errands or so he says and after a while, water began leaking into the hole."

"Yeah, same here. Before you know it, we were out like a light." Jimmy added before he and his brother widened their eyes and slowly turned to Kokichi and Grayson. "D-did you two save us?"

"...Maybe." Kokichi smiled.

"W-well of course! After all, what kind of hero I would be if I didn't save either of your lives?" Grayson pointed, laughing while Kokichi rolled his eyes.

 _"Of frigging course he would lie like that. Oh well, I guess I can understand why would these two nimrods would believe him."_ Kokichi thought in annoyance.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Todd and Surly were seen running through the streets in hopes of catching Mole and finding out what's going on. They immediately caught up with Precious as they saw Mole running into an alleyway, and once they arrived, they saw Mole wedging himself through the wooden fence. As Mole kept trying to squeeze his way out, Precious and came and...

"Face lick!" Mole froze upon feeling some slobber on his behind.

"That's not his face." Surly said, trying to look away in disgust.

"Ugh...Definitely. Not. His. Face." Todd said, almost had the urge to vomit. Mole gave out a deadpan expression before Surly dragged him out of the fence with a serious and anger look on his face, along with Todd.

"So you're the mole?! You two-timing snake!" Surly exclaimed in anger.

"Nah, I'm just a chicken." Mole smirked.

"Either way Mole, we saw what you did!" Todd exclaimed. "How could you?! You nearly tried to kill Johnny, Jimmy, and Kokichi! But thank god that he somehow wasn't in the hole when that happened!"

"Oh please? Why care for that lunatic? He's insane!" Mole retorted while Todd glared at him and said "Maybe he is, but at least he wouldn't go that far to drown someone!"

"Hey!" Precious gained their attention as she said "You guys want me to hurt them?"

"Nah, we're good. Thanks for your help, Precious." Todd assured, which made Precious sigh.

"Alright..." Precious sighed before walking off.

"Whatever! Now tell us! Why were you flooding our hole?! Did Raccoon sent you?! Talk!" Surly demanded, only for Mole to blow a raspberry into his face, much to Surly's irritation. Surly then grabbed him and began dragging him towards the light, which Todd knew what he was planning.

"Oh please? I'm like a steel vault, a tough nut to crack, a-AHHHHH!" Mole screamed as Surly moved out of the way, allowing the light to burn Mole's eyes. "My retinals!"

"Well? Are you gonna talk or not? What's Raccoon planning?" Todd demanded, moving out of the way as well to allow Mole to have his eyes burned out.

"AHHHH! Okay! Okay! I'll talk! Raccoon is trying to stop the heist!" Mole explained as Surly and Todd looked at each other with unconvinced looks.

"I'm not buying it." Surly shook his head.

"Me neither." Todd agreed as they stepped out of the way to let the light do its business with Mole.

"AHHH! No no! I'm serious! Raccoon is trying to stop the heist! Less food means more control! If the heist succeeds, then Raccoon will lose control of the park!" Mole exclaimed, shocking Todd and Surly.

"What?! I knew that guy was a jerk, but to think he would resort to this!" Todd exclaimed before turning to Surly. "Wow, you weren't kidding to say that Raccoon is really a lying sack of fur!"

"Exactly! But at least we got proof that Raccoon really is a traitor!" Surly smirked.

"Pfft! So what?" Mole scoffed. "Since when did you care about the park?"

"Hey, leave him alone Mole!" Todd glared at him as Surly said "It's okay Todd. Look Mole, you're right. I don't care about the park, but when I tell the gang about this, I'll get double."

"Yeah!" Todd nodded in agreement as he and Surly began to take their leave.

"Yeah right..." Mole rolled his eyes, causing Todd and Surly looked back at him with glares before Todd turned to Surly with a determined smile and said "Don't listen to him Surly! The others will believe us! I just know it!"

"Yeah...come on Todd, let's go!" Surly exclaimed, which Todd nodded as they both headed out of the alleyway and back to the nut shop. As Precious was about to leave and follow after them, she turned back and growled at Mole, causing him to flinch and fall back.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Back with Andie and the others, Johnny and Jimmy were explaining everything what happened with the group on the Nut Shop's rooftop.

"And there was water everywhere!" Jimmy explained with an excited grin. "Johnny was choking! I was choking! Before you know it..."

Jimmy and Johnny turned to Grayson and Kokichi, the former puffing his chest in proud while Kokichi rolled his eyes and still kept his smirk on his face.

"It was Grayson and Kokichi!" Jimmy exclaimed happily as he came over and patted them both on the back, causing them to nearly fall over. "They both saved my butt!"

"No! They saved my butts!" Johnny complained, pushing them aside.

"It was my butt..." Jimmy said in a threatening voice, poking his brother's chest.

"Oh yeah?" Johnny began fighting his brother while Jamie pushed them aside before saying "I'll kick both of your butts!"

"Wait for me!" Kokichi grinned, walking over to the fight. Mostly Jamie. Andie walked over to Grayson with a small smile and said "Grayson...I'm so glad that you're-"

Andie was immediately cut-off as Grayson grabbed and hugged her tight. Unbeknownst to them, Surly and Todd was watching them afar with Todd scowling at her while Surly became shocked upon seeing them.

"Good to have you back Grayson!" Jamie said in delight.

"It's been a disaster! We've been forced to work with Surly!" Johnny exclaimed.

"And not only that! But Todd was also working for him!" Jimmy added.

"I don't know, they seemed to be a pretty good team than you guys combined. Along with smarts...but Miss Jamie way more smarter than you guys combined." Kokichi muttered, letting out a chuckle.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Todd exclaimed as he and Surly climbed up to the rooftop with confused expressions.

"Oh nothing Toddy." Kokichi smiled innocently.

"Surly? Todd!" Grayson exclaimed happily as he rushed over and hugged them tightly before whispering "They think I shaved their butts."

"Surly!" Jamie called.

"Careful! They got hither!" Grayson warned before walking off, confusing Todd and Surly.

"Riiiight..." Todd muttered before Jamie asked "Hey, what happened? Were you two up here?"

"Well, you guys ready for this piece of news?" Surly asked with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah! You won't believe it, but it's Mole!" Todd exclaimed, shocking everyone.

"Todd's right, it was Mole! We saw him trying to drown the twins!" Surly added, which made Johnny and Jimmy looked at each other, having doubts about this.

"M-Mole?" Andie asked.

"Yep, it was all Raccoon's idea." Surly smirked while letting out a shrug.

"Exactly! He was nothing more than a two timing thieving fool! He was planning on sabotaging this entire heist to make sure none of you try to get the nuts back to the park." Todd added, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face. "See? I knew something was up with that guy."

Everyone looked at them with confusion, doubts, and were feeling upset.

"So wait, you're telling us that you're blaming Raccoon because he kicked you out of the park and gave you some punishment?" Jamie asked, not believing a word from them.

"No...we're not." Surly shook his head, raising a brow in confusion.

"Guys, Surly's telling the truth! I am too!" Todd exclaimed, standing up for Surly. "I was there too when we interrogated Mole, and I heard every word of it!"

"But...Raccoon would never harm anyone." Andie said, feeling worried about this.

"But he sure has!" Jimmy said, clenching his fist in anger while glaring at Surly.

"Hey listen, I just want my cut and split, alright?" Surly reminded them.

"Grayson...did you see anything down there?" Andie asked the gray squirrel to confirm their belief.

"Yes! I-I did?" Grayson wondered, causing Kokichi to face-palmed.

"Oh my baby Jesus...you're a frigging idiot..." Kokichi muttered.

Surly looked at Andie with an angry and disbelief expression as he asked "You think it was me, didn't you?"

"N-no! Of course not! J-just explain yourself!" Andie assured while Todd glared at her and said "What do you mean 'explain yourself'? He's telling the truth! I was with him the entire time! He's telling the truth! So am I!"

"I-I know! I just need to confirm this!" Andie said before turning to Buddy. "Buddy! Did you see anything?"

Before Buddy could do anything, Surly spoke up and exclaimed "Wait? You're asking him?! He can't help you! You're wasting your time!"

"S-Surly! What are you saying?!" Todd asked, looking at the purple squirrel in shock as Surly kept going and said "He's useless! Can't speak!"

Buddy flinched upon hearing those words as his ears drooped down in sadness.

"Only knows how to take orders!" Surly narrowed his eyes before gazing at Andie and said "Kinda like you Andie."

Andie widened her eyes in surprise while the Bruisers looked at him with anger and Kokichi simply just chuckled and said "Well...he ain't wrong."

"Shut it." Surly scoffed. "Come on, let's get out of here." Surly grabbed Buddy's paw, only for him to let go of Surly's paw, much to his confusion.

"B-Buddy?" Todd widened his eyes in surprise, seeing Buddy act like that as he began to walk away till he sided with Andie, the Bruisers, Grayson, and Kokichi. Andie patted him on the back, trying to cheer him up. "Buddy..." Todd muttered in sadness, seeing that the blue rat is taking Andie's side over Surly's.

Surly looked at him with anger before scoffing and turning away.

"W-wait! Surly! You can't-"

"Leave me alone Todd...just pretend we never met...ever." Surly muttered, darkening his face with a sad look as he continued to walk away.

"Is that the only way to treat the animals who defend ya?!" Jamie growled, cracking her knuckles as she was about to beat up Surly till Andie stopped her.

"No! No! Don't! That tunnel is open! Just let him go and get his share." Andie said, allowing Surly to leave.

"But we can't trust him!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"We let him go..." Andie looked back at Surly with a sad and serious look on her face. "Honor the deal."

Surly glanced at her before jumping down the edge of the building and sliding down the gutter, heading back down the alleyway.

"Bye Surly! See ya soon!" Grayson waved goodbye before noticing Kokichi's deadpan expression, realizing what he said. "I-I mean! Stay away! I dislike you strongly!"

Todd darkened his face, seeing Surly go away and say those mean thing to Buddy. Though, he could understand how Surly felt because nobody believed him. He soon clenched his fist in anger before turning to Andie and the others with an angry look and exclaimed "How could you?! Why would you guys believe him?! He was telling the truth! Especially you, Andie! Guess I was right, you never did care for him! You never cared for anyone!"

"Hey! Leave her out of this!" Jamie exclaimed, glaring at Todd. "She always care for us all and helped us every time we need her! Sure Surly is a bad criminal, but Andie still defend him!"

"Oh please! Since when did she ever defend him?! Name all the times she did!" Todd argued, which made Andie upset. She was starting to have enough of Todd's hate toward her as she glares at the fox squirrel.

"I have defended Surly from many troubles he's been through since we were kits! I do care for him! It's not my fault that I didn't tried to be kind with him! No matter how many times I tried to try to help him, he was being too stubborn! Besides, I want to believe in Surly! That's why I asked Grayson and Buddy in hopes maybe they knew."

"What about Kokichi?! He was down there as well!" Todd retorted.

"Because he's a liar! He always lies about everything, making us not believe in him! I want to understand Surly and believe in his wording!"

"Then why didn't you guys believe Surly?! I was there with him!"

"Because we've known and trusted Raccoon for many years unlike you! He'd never do such horrible stuff!"

"Umm...guys?" Kokichi called for them. "Alright, this fight of yours is going so cute for two stubborn squirrels, but now-"

"Surly said that Raccoon had been ruining his life! If that means nothing to you, then that just proves you little to no care for him!" Todd argued.

"I do care about Surly!" Andie retorted.

"Prove it!" Todd exclaimed.

"Hey, leave Andie outta this!" Jamie exclaimed angrily. "It was bad enough you worked with Surly, ya mutt squirrel!"

"Yeah!" Jimmy and Johnny exclaimed in unison.

"Don't get me involve with this again." Kokichi rolled his eyes with annoyance.

"Wait, what's happening?" Grayson asked, not hearing every bit of their conversation.

"Tch! Whatever!" Todd scoffed.

Todd then turns away from them and was about to take his leave, but Andie and the Bruisers still argues with him.

"You know Todd, we just wanted to help you out. You told us you were trying to get back to your mother. We agreed to help, yet you team up with Surly and rebel against us and the park." Andie said, glaring at him.

"Yeah! What's with ya teaming up with that purple jerk?! We take you into our park, and this is the thanks we get?!" Jamie asked.

"You have some nerve Todd! Everyone back home thinks of you as a traitor because ya working for Surly!" Johnny added.

"Mm-hmm! We trusted you and broken that trust ever since you helped Surly with the nut cart and ran off to work with him! Maybe Mole was right that you were an accomplice to Surly and we never learned or found out about it." Jimmy said, crossing his arms.

"Now guys, let's all calm down." Kokichi said. "This argument is not being funny."

"Funny? Funny?! How does everything you do or see is funny?!" Andie exclaimed. As they began arguing with him, Todd darkened his face and growled angrily, unable to take this anymore.

He turned back at them with a hard glare and a bit of tears in his eyes before snapping and exclaiming "BECAUSE I LOST MY FATHER, OKAY?!"

This shocks and surprises the Bruisers as well as Andie, Buddy, and Grayson with wide eyes while Kokichi looked at him with a serious expression as Todd begins to sobs and tries to hold back his tears.

"Okay...but what does that have to do with you working with Surly? What does it have to do with any of this?" Andie asked curiously.

"My father...resembles him. Same voice and almost the same cockiness. He's not a troublemaker though and he's not mean." Todd explained, wiping a tear away.

"Gee, really?" Jimmy asked while rubbing his head.

"Yes." Todd answered with a nod. "I lost him to cancer ever since I was human. In fact, we were all humans...which I'm sure you still don't believe."

Everyone, except Kokichi, looked at each other in confusion. But Andie, being nice, decides to believe Todd anyways.

"We'll just take your word for it, okay?" Andie softly smiled.

"Yeah, he's telling the truth." Kokichi said with a sigh. "Trust me, I know this because I was there when he woken up as a fox squirrel."

"A-are you serious?!" Jamie gasped.

"Yep Miss Jamie! It's the truth! I can tell you anything if ya want?" Kokichi asked with his eyes sparkling and made a goofy smile, causing everyone to sweat-drop.

"Yeah...no." Jamie shook his head, disappointing Kokichi.

"Okay, but still Todd..." Johnny turned to Todd, who let out some tears. "We never knew that. We're sorry."

Todd looked at them angrily, still having tears in his eyes as he glares at them and yelled "Of course you don't! All you Bruisers do best is burp, fart, and fight each other! You all are idiots, you know that?! Surly insulted Buddy and Andie because you made him! You don't understand him at all, just like you don't with me...and everything I've been through!"

"Yeah! You're all idiots except for Miss Jamie!" Kokichi smiled while Todd glared at him.

"That includes you too Kokichi! You're insane! Crazy! You're so stupid! Everything you say just upsets people!" Todd growled.

"Well they're truths that the park animals can't handle." Kokichi laughed.

"You never cared about anyone but yourself! You even ditch me to take care of the punishment myself!"

"Well I did half of it for you while you went to Surly." Kokichi smiled.

"Ugh! And you come up with these excuses to avoid getting caught! You know what? You're the world's most stupidest squirrel I've ever met! No wonder why no one wants to be my friend!" Todd exclaimed, which made Kokichi slowly widened his eyes.

"Hey...wait a minute, these are insults!" Kokichi gasped before turning to Jamie. "Quick Miss Jamie, back me up here!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Where the heck you've been when we needed you?" Jamie asked furiously.

"I was thinking of being a famous football player, thank you very much." Kokichi said bluntly. _"But wow...nobody ever said that before. "Well, he's not wrong about one thing. I...never had a friend before...never in my whole life."_ Kokichi thought sadly.

"See what I mean?! This just proves why you guys show no care for him!" Todd exclaimed in tears before turning and begins walking away from them. But Andie and Buddy, who had sad and sympathetic looks, catches up to him to talk to him a little more.

"Todd..." Andie spoke up, rubbing her arm sadly.

"What do you want?" Todd sternly asked.

"Todd, enough with your sour attitude and listen." Andie firmly replied before sadly yet apologetically saying "I...I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's okay...I guess." Todd answered in forgiveness.

"You know, you don't have to be embarrassed about it, but I had spotted you hugging Surly when I came to you guys." Andie added.

"Yeah. So what?" Todd asked.

"You actually look up to him, do you?" Andie asked with a raised brow.

"...Yeah. I suppose so..." Todd answered, somewhat hesitantly before being stern with them and said "...unlike you guys."

"If he really means that much to you, then I understand. Though, it's really strange since you had just met him a few days ago." Andie pointed out, which made Todd sighed as he didn't like to admit his admiration for thieves.

"Well because old Toddy here likes thieves." Everyone turned to Kokichi, who had a serious look on his face. "Back when he was a human, he always played any games that had thieves in it. That's why he admired Surly and at first thought of him as a park hero-"

"Wait, I'm the park hero." Grayson pointed.

"Ha ha ha, shut up Grayson." Kokichi said, smiling a bit forcefully.

"No, but-"

"No! Shut up! No one likes you! Besides, I can see why you ain't gonna be in the sequel because people always forgets you." Kokichi said before turning off screen and said "Well actually, the sequel in question is still be decided if it wants to be made or not if that's okay for our lovely author."

"What?" Andie asked, raising a brow.

"But anyway, we're going off topic." Kokichi laughed before putting back his serious expression. "But Toddy loves thieves. That's why he thought Surly was the park hero at first. Because...he sounded like his father."

"K-Kokichi...how did you know that?" Todd asked.

"Ha ha, I have my ways. Besides, those eyes were sparkling in amazement when you saw Surly for the first time." Kokichi smiled, causing Todd to blush.

 _"My eyes weren't sparkling that much...right?"_ Todd thought, feeling embarrassed.

"Todd...is that true?" Andie asked in worried, which made Todd sighed and said "Yeah, but...I don't want to talk about it. Right now, I want to go find Surly. I just...want to talk to him."

"Todd wait." Andie said, stopping Todd from leaving. "It's too dangerous to go out there alone."

Buddy then stood by Todd's side as if he'd lead and escort him to the purple squirrel.

"So...you're going to take him to Surly, right Buddy?" Andie asked, which Buddy nodded before sadly rubbing his arm. He was still hurt and thinking about Surly's insult toward him as well as everything else terrible he had said and done to him throughout his life.

"Alright, thanks Buddy." Todd said thankfully said with a small smile.

"Todd...be safe out there, and I hope things go well between you and Surly." Andie said with a small grin before frowning. "You were right...I wasn't the best to help and defend Surly. All what happened back then for a few days, I was too forceful to him."

"Jeez, you think?" Todd rolled his eyes with a stern look on his face.

"I should've understand how you felt, including Surly. I should've thought of something else, but you were right...I am no better than Raccoon." Andie said sadly, letting out a tear. "I never had no one to take care of me. Raccoon took me in to live with him, but he was always too busy with duties as Park Leader. I learned everything to survive everything by myself, and when I first met Surly, I wanted to be his friend, but kept refusing since his troubles with the park and his stubbornness. I wanted to help him...but all I do is just make things worse." Andie began letting out tears, which made Todd feel heartbroken seeing her like this.

 _"Andie..."_ Todd thought, feeling guilty and regret.

"I should've did something besides using his own life. You were right, okay?! I was no better than Raccoon! All I do is just make things worse and every time I want to solve a problem, I'll only make things worse!" Andie cried.

"Not cool Toddy. Breaking a girl's heart like that. That's cold." Kokichi said with crossed arms.

"Andie...don't feel bad." Todd said with a sad look, ignoring Kokichi's comment. "I should be apologizing. Sure maybe what you did was stupid and dangerous, but you tried your best to help anyone out. Besides, you comforted me by letting me go and see Surly, even though it might be too dangerous to go."

"Yeah..." Andie chuckled a bit, wiping away her tears. "You know, I think you have a better job on helping him more than I do."

"Mm-hmm!" Todd nodded.

"Todd...tell Surly that I'm sorry." Andie pleaded. "That's all I want. I want Surly to stop being arrogant and cold towards everyone. I just...want to see him being someone who cares for others. Besides, I think with you around he's slowly changing." Andie smiled.

"Y-you really think so?" Todd asked in surprise.

"Of course, I even seen you two hugged earlier ago." Andie pointed out with a smirk, which made Todd blush.

"O-okay, you win. Maybe I might be able to help Surly out. Thank you Andie." Todd smiled, which Andie nodded.

"You're welcome, and good luck." Andie said, which Todd nodded.

"Hey Toddy..." Kokichi spoke up, darkening his face and tears started falling off. "Good luck on redeeming Surly. Wouldn't your old man wanted this? Is that why you both made a promise back then?"

This caught Todd by surprise, wondering how Kokichi knew but soon dropped it as he thought that maybe he'll know later. Todd let out a nod as he turned around and was about to go. But before he and Buddy could leave, Todd immediately hugged Andie, catching her by surprise. She hugged him back, relieved that Todd trusts her again. Soon after ending the hug, he immediately took off and headed down with Buddy alongside him. Andie sighed, now relieved that Todd finally gain back her trust.

 _"Take care Todd, do this for Surly, please."_ Andie thought, forming a grin.

"Hey Kokichi..." Jamie spoke up, turning to the albino squirrel, who still had his face darkened. "That was really encouraging you and Andie did for Todd."

"Yeah..." Andie nodded in agreement. "Hey, there's something I need to know. What promise are you talking about? Come to think of it, how did you know about-"

"Ha...ha ha ha..." Kokichi began chuckling before he showed his face, full of insanity with his eyes that anyone saw knew how crazy he was. "HA HA HA HA! I'm not telling you stupid!"

"H-huh?" Andie looked at him with a shocked look.

"Oh my god! Did you all fall for my tears? That was a lie, you idiots and Miss Jamie! Oh my god! I can't believe you all fell for that!" Kokichi laughed as he let out a creepy smile. "But it doesn't matter because it's almost over! The final test will begin for Surly and Toddy! It's time for them to see how far their bond will get stronger! Even if it means that love has be sacrifice."

"S-sacrifice?!" Johnny exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?!" Andie demanded. "Love has be sacrifice?"

"That something you need to solve tuts." Kokichi winked.

"Hey, I'm sorta confused with all this. What test?" Grayson asked.

"You all really want to know?" Everyone nodded, wanting to know what Kokichi know that they don't. "Well..." Kokichi sighed, his ears drooping with a bored expression. "Nah, I'm bored. It's a waste of time to tell you guys anyway."

"What?! No fair!" Jimmy growled. "You better tell us now!" Jimmy charged towards him, but Kokichi dodged his punch and instead punched him in the gut. Jimmy fell on his butt and glared at Kokichi, who turned around and made a sly grin.

"Ooh, so sorry big guy. Didn't mean to hurt ya?" Kokichi chuckled.

"Kokichi, why are you doing this?!" Andie gasped as she and the others rushed to Jimmy's side and helped him out.

"I was just defending myself, duh. God, you're so stupid." Kokichi darkly chuckled before making a big creepy grin and a dark laughter and said "Oh well, it doesn't matter! Time for the fun to begin!"

With that, Kokichi took his leave, leaving everyone in shock and surprise.

"Kokichi..." Andie muttered sadly.

"That bastard! Can't believe he did that to my brother!" Jamie growled.

"You okay bro?" Johnny asked, helping his twin up.

"Y-yeah...But it'll take a punch in the gut to weaken me out." Jimmy assured while Andie looks over where Kokichi last stood.

 _"Kokichi...what are you up to?"_ Andie thought.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Todd and Buddy walked over through the alleyway as they were in front of the hole where the Bruisers were working on.

"So this is where he might be, huh?" Todd asked, which Buddy nodded. Todd noticed the blue rat was still looking sad and hurt. He understood the speechless rat though as he placed a hand on his shoulder in a friendly, comforting way.

"Well, thanks again." Todd said with an assuring grin. "Oh, and Buddy...please forgive Surly for his insult from the rooftop. I know he didn't really mean it, and I know it never was his intention to treat you badly throughout life. He's still your friend, after all."

Buddy sadly smiled and nodded before hugging Todd, who smiles and hugs him back.

"Thanks." The fox squirrel concluded. "I'll see you later, Buddy."

Buddy nodded as they both parted way with Todd jumping down the hole to go and see Surly, hoping to reason with him. Buddy sighed before he took his leave, going back up to the rooftop to see the others until something caught his eye. He noticed a small trashed milk carton on the grand and it has a photo of a familiar black haired child wearing neon headphones. It had a message that says "HAVE YOU SEE ME?" and it had a full name that says "Todd Lloyd" on it.

Buddy widened his eyes in shock, seeing the name and the headphones anywhere. He soon realized that Todd was right and he actually was a human. The speechless rat then takes the milk carton with him as he began to climb up towards the rooftop, attempting to show it to the others.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Todd comes out of the hole and looks around, seeing no one into the 'human hole' as he jumped off and headed back to the basement, finding Surly and Precious as the purple squirrel was throwing a few bag of nuts to the small elevator.

"Surly!" Todd called, gaining his attention.

"What now, kid? Shouldn't you be staying with the others just like Buddy?" Surly asked sternly.

"No, Surly." Todd answered, not bothered or even caring about Surly's grouchiness. "After all, they didn't believe me either and I'm just as mad at them as you are."

"Well either way, I want to be left alone." Surly said. "I've already gone through enough, and I don't need anyone right now."

"But I just want to stay with you and talk." Todd replied. "After all, I've gone through just as much as you have. Besides, Andie-"

Surly angrily glared at Todd, cutting him off as he exclaimed "Are you freaking kidding?! Andie?! She never bothers to even understand me?! First they get in the way of us raiding the nut cart, then they vote me outta the park, then they get their grubby little paws on what was supposed to be our room full of nuts, and now they won't beliee us when we try to tell them the truth about Raccoon! They ruined my plans, kid, and I've finally had it! I don't need them anyways!"

Surly crossed his arms with a grouchy look and a huff but Todd, however, still came over to the purple squirrel while rubbing his arm.

"Well I'm not here to do any of that, and I understand how you feel." The fox squirrel responded. "But I'm just here to-"

Todd was soon cut-off as he and Surly were trapped inside of a cage. They immediately looked up and saw Fingers was the one who put them in the cage.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Fingers laughed as Surly and Todd looks at him with shocked looks, seeing themselves captured.

 _"Oh...nuts."_ Todd thought, fearing what's going to happen him and Surly now.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Somewhere in Oakton City, Kokichi was seen at the graveyard where many people who passed away or die here in Oakton. Kokichi was watching a peculiar gravestone with a darkened face and a small grin.

"Heh...it's been a long while since I last saw this gravestone. How much time has flies." Kokichi muttered before he began to walk away. As he continued to walk, he narrowed his eyes a bit with a grin.

"They'll end this...Yeah, that's right. Todd and Surly...you two will end Racky's reign of terror." Kokichi laughed before his eyes glowed and made a big creepy smile. "You two will relinquish the darkness out of the heart of Liberty Park and bring the light back into it! Ooh, this shall be a fun fight to go through! HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

As he continued to leave, the moon shined over to the gravestone, which read...

 _ **"Here lies Kokichi Nowak. 1992-2004."**_

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	10. Chapter 9 - All Coming Together!

_**Note: The Nut Job belongs to Global Road Entertainment and all characters belong to their respective creators, but Todd Lloyd belongs to me and Dusk19.**_

Andie was pacing back and forth, getting extremely worried about Todd. He still hasn't come back and who knows what Kokichi was up to. After that evil creepy smile he made, she knew that he's planning something dangerous.

 _"Oh...Why didn't I just listen to Surly? I was trying to make sure that he was right by asking the others. I wasn't doubting him, I was unsure. Todd...please hurry."_ Andie thought, feeling more worried for the fox squirrel than ever.

"What do you think Kokichi meant by all that? His plan concerning about both Todd and Surly?" Johnny questioned.

"Beats me, all we know is that whatever that squirrel is planning is bad news." Jamie said with a serious expression. "Though again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm just wondering what's taking Surly and Todd."

"What? Are you actually feeling concern for that thief? The kid I understand, but Surly?!" Jimmy asked incredulous.

"I know he's bad, but after hearing all about Todd wanting to be with Surly and seeing him like his father, I...I can't help but feel concern. I mean, earlier during the heist, Surly even started recognizing the kid and included him in his talks." Jamie explained, which made the brothers realize that.

"Well...you make a good point." Jimmy rubbed his head bashfully.

"Yeah..." Johnny glanced away, blushing a bit. Andie overheard their conversation and smiled softly at Jamie, happy to hear that at least one of them is concern for both Surly and Todd instead of one of them.

Suddenly, she hears a whistle as she and the others turned around to find Buddy climbing back up to the rooftop and has a milk carton in his paws.

"Buddy? What's wrong?" Andie asked with a raised brow as Buddy gestured them to let them see what he got.

"An empty milk carton?" Johnny asked in confusion. Buddy shook his head and pointed to the side of the milk carton as the gang saw a picture of a familiar brown haired child with headphones, which caused them to gasp.

"T-those eyes...that face...those headphones..." Jamie gasped.

"I-It' could be right?" Jimmy asked, wanting to be wrong.

"...Todd." Andie said, widening her eyes upon seeing it. _"So he and Kokichi were right...and we didn't believe him. Now I feel like a terrible friend. Sure we might've made up, but instead I still made him distrust me because of putting Surly in peril..."_

"I don't believe it! That's Todd?! You mean to tell us that's Todd?!" Johnny exclaimed in shock. "That can't be!"

"It has to be, Johnny." Andie said, turning to him with a serious and stern look. "Todd was telling the truth the whole time. He really was human."

"You're not seriously believing into this, right Andie?" Johnny asked incredulous.

"Todd told me and Grayson before when we first met him when he was attacked by the city rats, and we doubted him with that. Now seeing what Buddy has, he was right." Andie looked at the milk carton with a sad look, seeing the picture of Todd with the word 'Missing' on the bottom middle. "His mother must be worried about him...just like how I am..."

The Bruisers looked at each other in concern for their red squirrel friend as they came over and patted her on the back.

"Alright...if you believe in Todd, we'll believe in him too." Jamie said with a soft smile.

"Same here!" Johnny added.

"I'm still confuse by all this, but what the heck? We'll believe in that." Jimmy agreed. Andie smiled at her friends before turning to Buddy with a curious expression and asked "Buddy, do you know where Todd went?"

After a few hand gestures made by the blue rat, Andie realized that Todd went inside of the Nut Shop because that's where Surly went in since he went to go and collect his profit.

"So he's in the Nut Shop...well it's taking a good while. Come on guys, let's go." Andie said as she began climbing down the gutter.

"Wait, where?" Jamie asked.

"We're going back inside to the nut shop to find our friends." Andie said with a smile on her face while it confused the Bruisers and Buddy before starting to realize that she was including Surly as well. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Without hesitating, the Bruisers and Buddy followed her to the Nut Shop as they not only planned to collect their profit, but to find Surly and Todd as well. But unbeknonwst to them, a familiar little red Cardinal was seen on the perch of a wire as it let out a chirp and began flying back to the park as he was gonna inform his leader about what he learned.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Meanwhile with our two heroes, they were trapped. Trapped inside of a metal cage as one of the robbers captured them and put them down on the table as the robbers were talking about the fates of the two rodents. Surly and Todd were still scared and in fear of their lives. Surly glanced away, wondering what to do while Todd began feeling scared of his life about to end and never got the chance to see his mother again.

Todd turned to the purple squirrel and asked "So what now Surly? I-Is there a way to get out of here? Please at least tell me that we can survive this, right?"

Surly looked at the kid with a sad look and replied "No...I don't."

Todd became shocked to hear that Surly didn't have a plan at all. He was feeling more scared than ever.

"Ugh! How can I be this stupid?! I'm supposed to be the brains of this operation and I didn't see that they wouldn't believe me?! Thanks to my arrogance, I lost Buddy! Great, life really likes to kick you in the alps!" Surly exclaimed angrily before noticing how frightened and scared Todd was becoming.

"Um…kid? You okay there?"

"It can't…end like this…It can't!" Todd exclaimed, grabbing onto the metal bars and immediately tried shaking them.

"Whoa, kid! Calm down!" Surly yelled, grabbing him and calming him a down a bit. "What's wrong with you kid?!"

"I-I'm so sorry…" Todd apologized with a sad sigh. Surly sighed and thought that maybe they could take their minds off with their current situation by talking.

"Hey kid…" Surly called, gaining his attention. "Tell me why? Why did you ever wanted to meet with me?"

Todd looked at him with a surprised look before he replaced it with a sad look as he sighed, and decided to talk about it.

"Because…you reminded me a lot like my dad." Todd said honestly.

"What?" Surly asked incredulous.

"You're always cocky and smart, just like him." Todd added. "I lost my dad when he had pancreatic disease. I was so…heartbroken and lonely because I always looked up to him. But when I first came to Liberty Park and saw you…You were so awesome and cool looking…I thought of you as a hero."

Surly looked at him with a surprised look when he heard Todd's reasons of why take a liking to him while feeling terrible for the kid losing his own dad.

"…Kid, I'm no hero. I'm just a squirrel out looking for a nut." Surly said, glancing away while blushing in embarrassment.

"Well still, you're so cool. I always admired thieving characters." Todd chuckled, surprising Surly even more. "It's the truth. Though the animals back at the park keep telling me that you were no good and always like to be arrogant and a lone wolf and such, I didn't believe in all that crap. I knew there was good in your heart."

"Wow…really?" Surly asked, looking at him as he realized that Todd was dead serious. After all, he stood up for him and refused to vote against him, and not only that, he helped him out during the heist today.

"Yeah, though I never relied on anyone in my life…well except for one." Todd sighed, intriguing Surly on that last part he said.

"Really? Who was it?" Surly asked curiously.

Todd let out a sad sigh before looking down on the ground and said "Listen, I know I haven't been the nicest kid. Again, I lost my father to pancreatic cancer. He was someone I had always looked up to, and he was the greatest with dad jokes. I just…miss him…" Todd lowered his ears in sadness. "But I wasn't like this just because of the loss of my father. It was also because of my best friend."

"Oh, so you do have a friend eh?" Surly asked, making a small smile at him.

"Yeah, he was somewhat nerdy though, but we were awesome and we promised we'd always be that way until the end. I grew up with him and we always hung out. He was pretty much the only close friend I had and the only one who understood me. He relates to me too because he lost his mother to lung cancer ever since he was 5." Todd explained, smiling upon reminiscing about his old childhood friend.

"Oh, wow…I guess you two were meant to be together, huh?" Surly smiled before frowning. "Just like me and Buddy…."

"Yeah…" Todd frowned as he said "Anyways though, we were BFFs and we always had each other. All until he and hsi dad had to move out-of-state ever since I was 10. Now, I have no friends whatsoever, no one to look up to, I have a bully who wouldn't let me catch a break, and now...look at me."

Todd began letting out tears as he began letting out whimpers. Surly looked at him, having this feeling in his heart like he never felt before.

 _"What is this? I don't know why...but I feel kinda bad for the squirt. Am I learning...guilt?"_ Surly thought, feeling terrible for the boy. Then, the unexpected happen. He hugged Todd, catching him by surprise.

"Hey kid. You don't have to cry. Just relax. I'm here for ya." Surly assured, causing Todd to smile at him.

"Yeah...you're right." Todd nodded. "Thanks."

"D-don't mention it..." Surly blushed before mentioning "But you know...you seemed to really admire me as a thief, huh?

"Well...to tell you the truth, about the whole 'I admire thieves' thing, I really don't admire them for what they do or what crime they cause. I admire them because I thought they were usually the only ones with easygoing or adventurous personality. That's usually what I like characters and why I look up to them, especially adult ones."

Surly looked at him with a smirk and asked "Huh. Is that so?"

"Yeah...I like other characters too though like Sonic, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot and so on. You probably never heard of them, but I'm just saying that I'm not all about thieves."

"Huh...neat." Surly chuckled before frowning a bit. "Hey listen kid...there's something I have to confess."

"Yeah, what's up?" Todd asked curiously.

Surly clenched his fist a bit before taking a deep breath in and out and said "Truth be told...back when I was a kit, I always done dangerous heists and tricks, hoping that it'll catch people's attention."

"Y-you really did that?" Todd asked in shocked.

"Yeah, more crazier than Kokichi's pranks and tricks." Surly blushed a bit. "See...I felt lonely all the time and nobody even knows that I exist. I thought that if I gained a reputation here, then many people would recognize me and I won't feel so lonely anymore. Though, there was a few set-backs and instead of being liked, I was being hated for all the trouble stuff I did. Nobody understood my loneliness, not even Raccoon. That old geezer always put me in strict punishments, hearing his stern lectures, and such. I was sick of it...I was sick of my life." Surly glanced away from Todd, looking at the front of the cage with a sad smile. "I had no friends, no family, I was all alone. That's why I became a thief because I learned that people didn't really care all about friendship or others. Just themselves. So I thought, if that's what the world wants, that's what the world would get. I always think about myself and trying to survive the outside world, but then I met Buddy and Andie, and they understood my loneliness, but I would treat them badly and push them away. I shouldn't have said all those mean things back there to them...I should've just listened and understood them..."

"Surly..." Todd hugged him back as he stated "Andie still cares about you, and I told Buddy that you didn't mean all that stuff you said back there. Andie still believes in you and wishes to bring back the Surly she once you. She wants to see your real smile again."

"S-she does?" Surly asked in surprise. Todd looked at the purple squirrel with a smile and nodded. "Huh...even after all these years, she's more stubborn than me."

"Tell me about it." Todd muttered.

"...But you know kid. I know you may have thought I'd be a good thief and squirrel too, and that's why you met and came along with me despite my wrong-doings from the park. I'm sorry if I disappointed you big time. I'm sorry...for not being the hero you thought I'd be." Surly apologized, looking at the fox squirrel with a sad look.

Todd understood and nodded in response. "It's okay, I guess..."

"And if we both don't get out of this alive, just know that it's my fault. If I was a good guy, then none of this would have happened. What's worse was that I stupidly put you in danger many times; first with those street rats, then with that dog, then I got you shot by those robbers, and now this. If anything did happen to you too, then the park would have really hated me and Andie would never want to talk or probably even see me again." Surly admitted.

Todd nodded in response as he understood again, and Surly smiled at the fox squirrel as he made a promise.

"But...if we do get get outta this, I promise I will be a changed squirrel, especially for you, Buddy, and Andie. And besides, you may have unfortunately lost your old man but it doesn't mean you can't have another." Surly smirked, causing Todd to smile back at him.

"Alright. Thanks, Surly."

"No problem, kid." Surly winked.

Just then, the robbers came back and glared at the two rodents, as they hugged each other tight with fear in their looks.

"What we're gonna do with them boss?" Fingers asked. King slammed a knife onto the table, adding more fear to the rodents as King said "Shut it!...And get me that blowtorch."

Todd and Surly widened their eyes upon hearing that. They're going to burn them alive?!

Precious began barking at King, not wanting him to burn the two rodents. That's when a little miracle happened that prevented Surly and Todd from getting scorched to death as King widened his eyes and let out a gasp as he turned around and saw his now ex-girlfriend...

"Lana..." King looked at her with shocked, not expecting her to show up at all. One look at her eyes, and you can see how hurt and betrayed she feels, seeing her own man betray and lied to her like that...and she believed in him. Fingers and Lucky realized how awkward this was as the latter said "Listen...we're gonna go back and do uh...tunnel stuff, yeah!"

After the two robbers left, Lana walked down the steps as she approached King with a hurtful look on her face. Todd couldn't help but feel sad for her. He overheard what was happening back earlier yesterday morning and saw how excited she was, but to find out that King was planning a bank heist really made her feel like she should've saw this coming.

"...So now you know." King said, turning away from him.

"When were you gonna tell me Percy?" Lana asked, at the verge of tears.

"I told you once...you can't change from who you are." King replied as Todd glared at the man.

 _"How could he?! She believed in her and yet you betray her words. At least Surly is now trying to change, unlike you."_ Todd thought, growling at the crime boss. Soon, they heard voices coming out of the tunnel as King said "Well...looks like its time."

"...Well then, fine. Go. Rob your bank already. I won't stop ya." Lana said, turning away from him. King grabbed a shovel and looked down on it and said "This really is...my last heist."

With that, King walked away back to the man-made tunnel to work on breaking into the Oakton City's first national bank. Lana soon began untying the leash around Precious's collar as it was tied up around the brown table. After she managed to untangle it, she grabbed the leash and decided to take Precious with her until she felt a halt, seeing the pug looking at the cage with a concern look. Lana looked at the two rodents, seeing how scared they felt. Lana walked over and opened it up, seeing the two squirrels slowly walking out as she turned around and began walking away.

"Thank you..." Todd muttered with a soft smile. Surly looks back down at Precious and says "But...I don't have the whistle."

"I know." Precious replied with a grin before walking off back to her new owner.

Surly widened his eyes, not understanding what Precious meant.

"Why?...Why do this for us?" Surly asked himself.

"It's because she sees you as a friend." Surly looked at Todd with a confused look as the fox squirrel continued "Even after you controlled her with the dog whistle...she still sees you as a friend like I do."

Surly smiled at him, fully knowing why Precious went out to save her. Even after all that, she cared about Surly. Just like with Andie and Buddy...

They soon got out of the Nut Shop with Surly opening the metal gate for Todd while he came out last and holding the bag of nuts in his paws.

 _"You know...maybe Surly still wants to be left alone. It's for the best to let him calm down after what we've been through just now."_ Todd thought sadly before turning to Surly and said "Well, we made it out alive. But...if you still want to be left alone, then okay. I'll be with the others if hopefully I can find my way back to them. I guess I'll see you later."

Todd starts to leave, but Surly stops him.

"Todd, wait!" Surly shouted, causing Todd to turn around widened eyes, surprised to hear him say his name again.

"It's too dangerous to go out there alone." Surly said before softly smiling at the fox squirrel. "You should stay with me, kiddo. We'll stick together."

Todd smiled at him, happy and relieved to hear that Surly cares about him as he walks over and ruffles his head, causing him to giggle.

"Thanks, Surly. In fact, I was right before. We really do make a pretty good team." Todd chuckled.

"Of troublemakers, I assume?" Surly and Todd's ears' perked up upon hearing that voice. They knew who it was. Before any of them could react, they were attacked and pinned against the wall by a load of street rats while Surly dropped the bag of nuts in the process of getting pinned by them.

"Hold them tight! Hold them tight!" One of the rats snickered. Todd and Surly looked over to see a familiar raccoon walking out of the shadows with a sneaky grin on his face.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Raccoon wondered as he turned to Surly and asked "A hero or a thief?"

He then turned to Todd, still having the same smirk on his face. "And a squirrel...or a fox? I can't tell the difference."

"You think you can starve the park just so you can stay control!?" Surly demanded.

"Yeah! You won't get away with this! We know everything with your plan! Mole told us everything!" Todd added with a low growl. Raccoon raises a brow at them, not showing any care about it as Mole appeared out of nowhere as he exclaimed "W-what?! What are they talking about?! I think they're loopy, you know! Cuckoo!"

"Says you!" Todd scoffed, which Mole winced.

"Is this another one of your swindles? Some half-baked revenge against me?" Raccoon questioned Surly, walking back and forth with a nearly blank expression before forming a smirk. "It's something else, isn't it? You're trying to impress...Grayson? Or perhaps...Andie?"

Surly widened his eyes in shock, hearing Raccoon mentioning her. "Ahh...yes. I see now."

Surly glared at him and exclaimed "You touch a hair on her, and you're gonna be sorry!"

"Whatever...it doesn't matter. Soon, my little revenge plan on you will be over." Raccoon chuckled while Todd became confused on what he meant.

"Revenge? For what?" Todd asked before turning to Surly and asked "What did you do?"

"Well...let's just say that we've never been on good terms." Surly replied.

"You really wanna know, eh Todd?" Raccoon asked, smirking at the fox squirrel, who glared back at him. "Every time he makes a heist, it always resulting on trying to prove how troublesome he is and how hard he's trying just to gain attention to let others know he exists. Every time he does so, it always ruins my plans. But then again..." Raccoon formed a smirk on his face and said "Although most of his heists results in collateral damage, it does help me gain more control of the park."

"Why you little!" Surly growled at the park leader as Todd looked at him with a confused look as he asked "Wait...always ruins your plan? Does that mean...!"

"Ahh...how smart you are, Todd. See, I was originally planning on burning the Grand Oak Tree myself without no witnesses. But if there was one...well, I can always leave it to the city rats to take care of them." Raccon said, not showing a hint of remorse or care about what would happen if anyone saw that he tried to see that he was planning on blowing up the Grand Oak Tree.

Todd gasped to hear this as he growled "How could you?! You would sacrifice someone just so you can continue to control the park?!"

"Yes." Raccoon answered bluntly. "Sometimes, you need to make great sacrifices in order to achieve succession. That's how the real world works Todd."

"Ah!" Todd glared at him as he was pinned hard against the wall.

"Though...I never expected Surly to pull the strings on blowing the Grand Oak Tree for good. Very good job by the way." Raccoon complimented, causing Surly to glare at him angrily, not happy for the park leader to bring that up. "It was finally my chance to get rid of you after all these years if it wasn't for that pathetic red squirrel I call a daughter."

"Hey! Don't talk to Andie like that! At least she cares about Surly and the park than you!" Todd exclaimed.

"Who cares?" Raccoon scoffed. "She's just an ignorant, rebellious, brat that I should have never taken with me. I was planning on making her my successor and make her join me in conquering Liberty Park, but instead...she chosed to help you!" Raccoon pointed at Surly, who happened to smirk at him as he said "Well, guess she got the likes for me."

"GRRR!" Raccoon growled angrily at him before regaining his composure. "I don't care. I thought it would be my chance to finally get rid you once and for all, Surly. If it wasn't for this child you call a friend!"

Raccoon pointed at Todd, who blew a raspberry at him, which he ignored.

"Though...I'm surprised that someone like him would befriend a thief like you, even though he barely even knows you besides the rumors he heard and what we told him at your trial." Raccoon said with a smirk. "How weird for a mere human."

"Human?" Surly questioned before turning to Todd, who widened his eyes upon hearing Raccoon mentioning that. "What's he talking about?"

"W-well..."

"You see, Todd Lloyd is actually a human. Don't know how he became a fox squirrel to be exact." Raccoon scoffed, shocking Surly before he turned to the fox squirrel, who let his ears dropped down in sadness

"Is this true?" Surly asked

"Yeah...sorry for not telling you that." Todd sighed while Surly looked at him with shocked all over his face.

 _"Todd...is a human?!"_ Surly thought, shocked upon learning that.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Raccoon chuckled. "Now are you regretting for ever teaming up with a bratty child like him?"

Surly thought about it before darkening his face and smiled. "Hmm...you really like using these kind of things to your advantage, huh Raccoon?"

"It's what I do best." Raccoon smirked. However, he wasn't expecting him to look at him with a big grin on his face.

"But even so, he's the first squirrel to ever open up to me. He believed in me, he never was against me, he never voted me off, and kept following me because he looked up to me as a hero. Even if I wasn't the hero he ever imagined, I would still protect him from your paws." Surly said, shocking Raccoon and Todd. Todd looked at him before slowly forming a grin on his face, happy and relieved to hear that Surly cared about him.

 _"Surly...thank you."_ Todd thought. Soon, Raccoon regained his composure and simply scoffed.

"Hmph! Oh well, it doesn't matter. What matters is taking out the trash." Raccoon said, confusing both Todd and Surly.

"What do you mean?" Todd questioned.

"Oh you'll see once my accomplices will take care of them soon enough." Raccoon stated as the city rats grinned nastily and darkly chuckled. Surly and Todd widened their eyes upon realizing where he was going with this.

"N-no! You can't!" Todd begged.

"They don't follow me! They hate me! They hate me!" Surly exclaimed, pleading Raccoon for letting them have mercy.

"Maybe, but I can't leave any evidence, Surly." Raccoon stated as Cardinal swooped down and landed on Raccoon's arm as he added "Every good thief knows that."

Todd glared and growled angrily at him, not even believing a single word out of this animal.

"You sick twisted bastard! You're no thief! You're a coward!" Todd exclaimed before spitting at Raccoon's face, much to his irritation. Todd made a cocky grin at him as Raccoon gave him a menacing and frustrated look before he exclaimed "Why you meddlesome boy!"

He unsheathed his claws and before you know it, he scratched his left arm, leaving a big gash on it.

"AHH!" Todd screamed as he fell down on the floor, clutching on his left arm in pain as blood began dripping down.

"TODD!" Surly screamed in shock as he glared at Raccoon and exclaimed "You bastard! What more do you want?! Do you even care what you done?! He's a kid!"

"Oh please, like I would care about him." Raccoon scoffed with a light chuckle. "If only he would be loyal and be a good little fox squirrel, then maybe I would've gone easy on him, but it looks like he had to make things difficult, didn't he?"

"Aah...it hurts. Kinda a suckish move." Todd muttered, wincing in pain of his scratched arm.

"You'll pay for this Raccoon!" Surly exclaimed angrily.

"Heh heh, I like to see you try." Raccoon laughed before picking up the bag of nuts Surly dropped and threw it to one of the city rats as he said "You'll get the rest once you dispose of Andie and her party. Meanwhile, I'll finish off Mr. Hero and his little boy here myself."

Raccoon snarled at Surly as the purple squirrel glared back at him and said "The park'll get rid of you. They'll vote in new leaders."

Raccoon gave him a blank look before saying "How many leaders do you think this park can have? Hm?"

"H-hey listen Raccoon..." Mole called, gaining the park leader's attention. "This is all getting all quite a little troublesome, but...don't you think we're going too far?"

"Shut up you! I didn't ask for your opinions!" Raccoon snarled, frightening Mole. "Now where's that shiny thing he's supposed to have?"

Suddenly, two rocks were thrown and knocked out the rats that were pinning Surly, releasing him from their grasp.

"Oh, you mean this Racky?" Everyone turned to see a familiar albino squirrel holding the dog whistle in his paws with a smirk on his face.

"Kokichi!" Surly, Raccoon, and Todd yelled in shocked.

"The one and only." Kokichi laughed. "Though...I never anticipated this. This clearly wasn't a part of my master plan, but whatever."

"You useless white squirrel! What do you think you're doing?!" Raccoon demanded.

"What does it looks like? I'm here to save the day!" Kokichi replied, which made Raccoon laughed.

"Are you serious? Why would a troublemaker like yourself bother to help these two imbeciles?" Raccoon questioned.

"Well I have my reasons. You, on the other hand, sorry to say that I'm afraid that you won't get away with this." Kokichi chuckled. "Never reveal your plans out loud. Trust me, you learn this from experience."

"I don't take orders from a fool like you! You take orders from me!" Raccoon exclaimed as he was about to charge at Kokichi until the metal gate blown up and knocked everyone off course. Surly managed to get up quickly while Raccoon and the city rats were still dazed from the explosion as he raced towards Todd with an extremely worried look and asked "Are you okay Todd?!"

"I-I think so...but I can't get up right now. He really did a number on my arm." Todd winced.

"Need a paw?" Surly turned around to see Kokichi holding a rag in his paws, which he accepted. Although, he wondered how Kokichi managed to dodge that explosion, but right now, he was concern for Todd. He wrapped the rag around Todd's arm as he helped him get up, but Todd kept wincing in pain.

"It's no use...I'm too hurt to even run on all fours." Todd said.

"Ha...'it's no use'. Classic meme." Kokichi chuckled, ignoring the deadpan expression on Surly's face before turning to Todd and asked "Don't worry Todd, we'll find a way."

"Yeah! Hop on Surly's back and ride him like a cowboy!" Kokichi exclaimed. Surly and Todd looked at each other and shrugged, since they're kinda running out of ideas. With that, Kokichi helped Todd up and put him on Surly's back as they immediately made their escape back into the Nut Shop.

"GO! GO! GO!" Kokichi exclaimed as they kept running away from them.

"Hey wait, Kokichi?" Todd called, looking at him curiously while being carried by Surly on his back. "How did you get that dog whistle and where to find us?"

"I came when you called!" Kokichi answered. "Also, I-I don't know. It's hard to explain how to explain it. Not even the author can come up with a lousy reason like that. So let's just say I found it while you suckers weren't looking back at the rooftop."

"Okay...how?!" Todd demanded.

"No time to talk Todd! Let's get the heck out of here!" Surly exclaimed, eager to get out of here as they saw the city rats chasing after them. Kokichi played a little trick on them as he made them chased after him as he draw them through the mouse traps, only making two of the three city rats to fall for it. The third one pounced at Kokichi, but he saw this coming and used the dog whistle as a bat and knocked him into a box filled with mouse traps.

"Ooh...that guy is not gonna wake up after that." Kokichi stated. "...Ever."

"Can we move on please?" Surly demanded, not wanting to hear another word from Kokichi. "But Kokichi...thanks."

"Anytime." Kokichi winked.

"Guys! Watch out!" Todd pointed out, seeing King leaving out of the tunnel. Surly widened his eyes while Kokichi blankly stared at him and commented "So this is the big bad boss guy? Looks like a rip-off of some mobster I know."

Surly grabbed him by the tail and dragged him to the fallen escalator as they watched him put down sacks of cash on the ground, which made Todd gasped in shock.

 _"So that's what they're doing! They're robbing the bank!"_ Todd thought in shock until he and the others noticed a cart rolling back out of the tunnel, which was noticed by King.

"What the?" King asked himself before seeing his two lackeys coming out of the cave with furious expressions. "I thought I told ya morons to stuff the bags of nuts into the vault!"

"Yeah, so why did you took the cart away while we were doing it?!" Fingers demanded.

King raised a brow at him and asked "What kinda game you playing at?"

"What kind of game you playing at?!"

"Settle down, we probably accidentally pushed it off when we were packing them up." Lucky suggested, not wanting to pick a fight with their boss.

King noticed a little something under the cart, having suspicions about this cart already as he said "Or maybe…"

As he pushed the cart off, it revealed Andie and the other park animals, shocking the robbers as they immediately scattered the place once they've been found out.

"Quick! Shoot those rodents!" King demanded as the animals quickly ran to hide or escape back from the tunnel they came out of. King then noticed Andie climbing up the table as he quickly grabbed his gun and tried to shoot her. Unfortunately, due to how frightened he was, he wasn't able to shoot her and missed. Todd let out a sigh of relief, glad to see Andie still alright.

"Phew…a swing and a miss." Kokichi laughed before noticing something…or someone on King's back. "Oh god, no."

"What?" Todd asked before he and Surly looked up and saw what they were looking at and became shocked on who it was hiding behind King's back.

"Grayson?!" They gasped.

"AH!" Grayson yelled in fear before jumping off and hiding behind their hiding spot as he began shivering in fear.

"Grayson, you moron!" Surly exclaimed in exasperation.

"You have to got to be kidding me." Kokichi sighed in annoyance. "Why are you even here in this heist? No…the entire fanfic?!"

"Shut up Kokichi!" Todd yelled.

"Guys! I need your help! I need a disguise!" Grayson pleaded, much to their confusion.

"What?!" Surly asked before shaking his head and demanded "Look! I got no time with ya! We need you to go and get everyone out of here by going out from the tunnel! I'll try to distract them while Kokichi carries Todd out of here!"

"Hold on, what?" Kokichi asked before Surly handed the fox squirrel onto Kokichi's arms.

"I need…something…flamboyant!" Grayson said, ignoring everything Surly said. Kokichi stared at him blankly and said "Good lord, how did you ever become the park hero, I'll never understand. I'm surprised that no one in the park knows about your cowardice. Which then again…animals are a bunch of curious and naive losers."

Todd looked at him with a questionable look, wondering about that last part Kokichi mentioned.

"Hey!" Grayson shouted, offended by what Kokichi said. Soon, Surly grew irritated by the gray squirrel constant stupidity as he grabbed him by the cheeks and yelled "You don't need a cape! You're the park hero for crying out loud! They're always believing in ya! Like just last summer, who discovered a broken sprinkler over at the west side of the park and helped everyone from dehydration?!"

"I…did?" Grayson answered.

"Exactly! I may not be a hero! But you are! Now get out there and march out there because it's hero time!"

"It's hero time!" Grayson said with a determined look before bluntly asking "Why am I screaming again?"

"Oh for god's sake and sanity!" Kokichi muttered in annoyance before yelling "RATS!"

Grayson widened his eyes in shock upon hearing that word as he screamed "RAAAAATS!"

With that, Grayson immediately got out of Surly's grasp and headed out of the tunnel, which the others noticed.

"Oh! It's Grayson!" Jamie said in amazement.

"He's here to save us!" Johnny guessed.

"Quick! Now's our chance!" Andie said, which the others agreed without hesitation as they followed after Grayson. Surly let out a sigh of relief to see them get out of there before noticing King setting their sights of them. Surly gasped before pulling off a determined look as he turned to both Kokichi and Todd and said "Now listen Kokichi, you gotta get Todd out of here and find a safe place to let him recover and I mean it!"

"Alright, alright. Jeez, if ya want to help the kid, do it yourself." Kokichi rolled his eyes.

"Wait Surly, what are you gonna do?" Todd asked curiously.

"I'm going to be a hero." Surly replied before running towards King and climbing on top of him, which made King frightened upon feeling something crawling around him, making him unable to take the shot while the others escaped out of there. Todd smiled happily to see Surly not doing for himself, but for the others as well.

 _"He's really doing it. I knew Surly had some good in his heart."_ Todd thought with a smile. Soon, Kokichi carried Todd out of the nut shop by taking the little tunnel the Bruisers made. Once they were out, they looked to see the two vans' engines starting up.

"Huh…looks like those bastards are about to make like a tree and leave. Well doesn't matter. Come on Toddy, let's get out of here!" Kokichi exclaimed as he began climbing up the gutter with Todd on his back as they were arrived to the rooftop where Kokichi settled the fox squirrel down on his back.

"Wait…why do you bring me back here?" Todd questioned.

"What? You're fine. You can enjoy watching the stars and hear the traffic sounds at the same time to relax." Kokichi replied bluntly.

"That doesn't answer my question." Todd said in a deadpanned expression.

"Alright fine. We can't leave."

"Why?"

"Because I see Raccoon tricking the others into going inside one of the vehicles that's stashed with nuts before he locked them inside." Kokichi answered bluntly, shocking Todd as he immediately got up and exclaimed "What?!"

"No, I'm serious. See!" Kokichi pointed over at the ledge as Todd walked over and saw Raccoon trapping the others into the van as it began leaving.

"Dang it!" Todd cursed. "Where are you Surly?"

"I'm here!" They turned around to see Surly climbing back up to the rooftop, much to Todd's joy as he ran over and hugged Surly tight.

"You're here! I'm so glad you're alright!"

Surly smiled and hugged him back and said "Hey, I told ya I'll be fine. So what's up?"

"Well the park gang are locked inside of the van, so that's a start." Kokichi shrugged.

"What?!" Surly looked down to see the van getting away. "Great…Alright, we need to figure out how to get there!"

"Hmm…" Todd thought, wondering a good plan to get over to the van until they felt like someone next to them as they turned to their right and saw Grayson looking down blankly before he noticed them and screamed in terror, surprising the others.

"Would you stop doing that?!" Surly demanded.

"Yeah, it's starting to get annoying." Kokichi muttered.

"Grayson, how did you get here?" Todd asked.

"Uhh…I have no idea." Grayson said bluntly.

"Look! Doesn't matter." Surly said in a serious tone. "We need to get over there and try to save our friends!"

"Surly's right! We can't let Raccoon get away with this!" Todd added.

"So are you guys in or not?" Surly asked.

Grayson made a determined expression and said "Let's do it!"

"Meh, got no choice anyway. Besides, I wrote a contract with the author and he said that I have to be in this rescue scene of this fanfic." Kokichi shrugged, causing the three to look at him weirdly.

"…What are you even talking about?" Todd questioned.

"Don't worry, I won't spoil anything more Toddy. Well I mean I read the script of each chapter, but not the end. You know, I don't like spoilers." Kokichi replied with a grin, confusing the fox squirrel even more.

 _"Okay, this squirrel really is messed-up in his own way."_ Todd thought, sweat-dropping a little.

"Anyway…" Surly cleared his throat, wanting to change the subject as he pointed over to the pigeons and said "I think I found our way towards the van."

Todd, Grayson, and Kokichi looked over at the pigeons as the fox squirrel grinned and said "Oh yeah!"

* * *

"WOOOO-HOOOO! Yeah!" Todd screamed as they were riding on the pigeons as rides and flew down towards the van.

"OLE! God! I love this!" Grayson cheered.

"Just shut up Grayson! I'm having my moment here! I'm coming Miss Jamie!" Kokichi yelled as they fly down and landed on the vehicle. They flew down and landed on top of the van, ready to save their friends.

"Alright you guys, we need to figure a way inside of this van." Surly said.

"On it!" Grayson nodded before the van suddenly stopped, causing him to fall in front of the car as he held onto it in fear.

"And suddenly, Grayson is gone. Why am I not surprise?" Kokichi muttered with a slightly annoyed look.

"Come on! We gotta save him!" Todd said as he tried to go after him until they heard a clonking sound as they slowly turned around to find Cardinal behind them. It let out a chirp, which frightened them.

"Oh boy..." Surly sighed.

"Well this can't be good..." Todd muttered.

"You know, I can never tell if this bird is a boy or a girl. I mean, I don't even think the animators even came up with-AH!" Kokichi was then attacked by Cardinal as it repeatedly kept pecking him over and over again, much to his annoyance. "Somebody! OW! Do! OW! Something! OW! OW! OW!"

Surly and Todd rushed to his side, only to get attacked by Cardinal as well as they backed away from it until they fell down and landed onto the car windows', face front.

"Ah!" Lucky shrieked, seeing the three rodents. "Squirrels! And...a bird?!"

"Oh yeah, a squirrel." Surly rolled his eyes.

"So now they say it. About time suckers." Kokichi added as they slowly slid off the glass and hang onto the car wipers as Cardinal landed on the second one.

"Ha ha! You can't hurt us now!" Todd taunted until Lucky activated the car wipers and allowed to get closer to it. "Oh no...OW!"

Soon, Cardinal began doing this over and over at the three squirrels, acting it like a game of Whack-A-Mole!

"Please...somebody...end...this...I don't feel good..." Kokichi muttered, slowly turning green. Surly let out a frustrated grunt as he grabbed the car wiper Cardinal itself was on and launched him out of their sights and into a cat show, where they heard some hissing and feathers flying out.

"Yeah! Nice shot Surly!" Todd cheered.

"Anytime Todd! We showed that bird who's boss!" Surly chuckled.

"Yep-a-doodles! Now let's get the heck out of here and try to hurry before Racky might do something stupid." Kokichi said, which they nodded in agreement. Soon, they climbed on top of the van and raced to the back, where they encountered Mole.

"Mole?!" Todd exclaimed in shock before growling angrily at him and said "What are you doing here?!"

"O-Oh! H-hey guys." Mole chuckled nervously.

"Answer the question!" Todd demanded. "Why are you here?!"

"Okay, to be fair, I want to say I'm sorry for working and taking on Raccoon's side, but it's just tiring to work someone like him. I mean, I can't even get a read on that guy." Mole explained.

"Yeah! He's like someone I've seen from a certain abridged series." Kokichi thought aloud. "But anywho, you came here to save the others huh? That's pretty bold, even for someone like you."

"Ain't that the truth?" Surly shrugged before turning to Mole with a soft smile. "But I'm glad that you're here to help Mole."

"Thank you?" Mole raised a brow at him, surprised a bit that Surly is not acting like his usual self. Suddenly, they heard screaming underneath the van as they looked down to see Grayson coming towards them, sliding down on the door.

"Grayson?!" They all exclaimed as Grayson was going to crash and die. But, luck came to his side as Surly managed to grabbed him by the ears in time before the door crashed into the streets. Todd and Kokichi helped Surly out and picked back up on the ledge of the car. Once they managed to get him up, Grayson started giving Surly some kisses, much to his annoyance.

"Bleh! Bleh! Stop that!" Surly exclaimed as Todd snickered and said "Well, I guess that's Grayson's way to repay ya."

"I rather something else besides that." Surly replied before turning to both the gray squirrel and Mole and asked "Can you two help us unlock this door?"

"Ole!" Grayson answered.

"Is that a yes or a no? I honestly cannot understand you anymore." Kokichi rolled his eyes until Todd nudged him. Soon, the five animals worked together and managed to grab the doorknob and unlocked it, finding Jamie, Buddy, and Andie inside.

Grayson first stepped in with a big grin on his face, surprising the three rodents.

"Ah! Grayson!" Jamie smiled happily. Soon, Surly, Todd, and Kokichi landed inside of the van, face-flat.

"Surly! Todd! Kokichi?!" Andie exclaimed before racing over and hugging the fox squirrel and purple squirrel with tight hugs. "I'm so glad that you two are alright!"

"Heh heh...same here Andie." Surly replied.

"Yeah! Told ya I'll be okay." Todd assured with a grin.

"Miss Jamie!" Kokichi exclaimed happily, much to Jamie's disappointment.

"Oh god no..." Jamie muttered.

"Hey wait...where those bozos brothers of yours? Weren't they with you guys back at the nut shop?" Kokichi asked.

"Oh yeah, Raccoon asked them to go to the park and round up more animals to help out in the heist." Andie explained before noticing the bandaged rag around Todd's left arm, much to her shock. "Todd! What happened to you?!"

"It was Raccoon! That's what!" Todd answered.

"He's right! He planned this from the very beginning and hope for me destroying the Grand Oak Tree!" Surly added.

"Well...they're right." Kokichi shrugged. "Racky was actually a criminal crime boss who's been manipulating and controlling you guys by starvation. He even planned on destroying the Grand Oak Tree himself without you guys noticing a thing."

"What?!" Andie gasped in shock. "I-I don't believe it...I knew Raccoon was always stern and suspicious...but to think he was going to do that...I can't believe it."

"Andie..." Todd looked at her with a concern look. Soon, she shook her head and said "Well it doesn't matter. I'll take you guys word. If what you said is the truth, then I'll believe it."

"Andie! Thank you!" Todd smiled happily.

"And Buddy?" Surly turned to the blue rat, who glanced away from him as Surly said "Listen...I know I'm not the nicest squirrel in the world. But...I'm sorry for everything..."

Buddy raised a brow at him, which Surly noticed. "And for being an arrogant jerk." Buddy continued to look at him. "And for saying all that stuff back there...And I know, I'm kinda sorry for not treating as a friend. Truth be told...you're one of the first animals to ever noticed or even cared about me, and I thank you bud."

Buddy looked at him, realizing that Surly really meant it as he smiled happily in tears and hugged the purple squirrel, which Surly hugged back, rekindling their friendship.

"Ahh..." Jamie muttered while Todd smiled at the two, happy to see that they forgive each other.

"Yeah yeah, touchy stuff." Kokichi rolled his eyes. "Now let's get out of here."

"Y-yeah!" Surly nodded, ending his hug with Buddy. "Now let's get out of here before-AH!"

Surly was soon grabbed by the neck as the others gasped and saw Raccoon holding onto him by surprise as he attempted to throw him overboard.

"Raccoon! No!" Andie exclaimed.

"Stop it!" Todd added, glaring at the raccoon. Before he could throw him out of here, Grayson grabbed Surly's tail and pulled him back, preventing Raccoon from trying to throw him out of the van.

"W-what do you think you're doing?! Help me throw him out before he kills us all!" Raccoon snarled.

"How ironic when you're trying to kill us before! You were even going to kill Andie and the others as well in order to make sure 'not to leave any evidence behind'." Todd scoffed. "You never cared about the park no anyone! You only cared about yourself!"

"Hmph! Don't listen to this brat! He works for this criminal! That's why you all need to think this through and so we can rid this villain out of our home!" Raccoon exclaimed.

"No Raccoon..." Andie glared at the park leader, her emotions boiling up. "You're the traitor! I should've taken both Surly and Todd's words back then, but after what we've been through during the heist, I'm going to trust them!"

"W-what?!" Raccoon gasped.

"Yeah! Same here! I want to believe in my friends!" Jamie nodded, crossing her arms.

"Me too!" Grayson added. "Surly and Todd saved my life! They're heroes!...Well actually, co-heroes."

"Umm...thanks?" Todd said with a nervous grin and sweat-dropped a little.

"T-this is treason! You can't do this to me!" Raccoon exclaimed. "Besides, even if I am the traitor, you all have no proof that I am!"

"I wouldn't say so." Kokichi said with a smirk, causing Raccoon to glare at him angrily.

"And why's that?"

"Ladies and gentle-squirrels of the van, I would like to present to you all this!" Kokichi took out a medium sized tape recorder as he said "A tape-recorder!"

"A tape-recorder?" Todd questioned.

"Yeah! Listen to this!" Kokichi chuckled darkly as he hit the button as the tape-recorder began speaking up.

 _"Ahh...how smart you are, Todd. See, I was originally planning on burning the Grand Oak Tree myself without no witnesses. But if there was one...well, I can always leave it to the city rats to take care of them..."_

Everyone became shocked to hear Raccoon's voice coming out of the tape-recorder as the former park leader widened his eyes in pure shock upon hearing his own confession.

"T-that's not true...that's impossible!" Raccoon exclaimed.

"So wait, you recorded Raccoon's confession?!" Todd asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I recorded it while you guys were busy interrogating him." Kokichi replied, causing Todd to look at him like he was crazy as he asked "But wait, if you were there the whole time, why didn't you stop him from before?!"

"I just love making dramatic entrances. That's all you need to know." Kokichi winked, causing Todd to blankly stare at him.

"Really?" Todd asked.

"So it's true..." Andie turned to the former park leader as she exclaimed "I can't believe that you would go this far! We trusted you!"

Raccoon looked at the red squirrel, shocked to see her this angry.

"And that's not all!" Mole added, hanging onto the door. "He's also been starving us to death just to let us suffer from hunger while he enjoyed seeing us suffer."

Everyone glared at Raccoon, all angry and betrayed that Raccoon would do these things. The park leader they all believed in...was now gone.

"Okay everyone! All that wants this monster to leave our home...raise your paws!" Grayson declared, which went unaminous, much to Raccoon's anger.

"Oh? You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, I'm the bad guy!" Raccoon sneered before throwing Surly out of the van before he grabbed a bag of nuts to cushion the fall.

"Surly!" Andie yelled in surprise while Buddy and Todd widened their eyes to see Raccoon throw Surly out of there, possibly killing him.

"Surly!" Todd shouted in shocked before glaring angrily at Raccoon. "Y-you'll pay for this...You'll pay for this Raccoon!"

"Ha ha, I like to see you try." Raccoon chuckled, adding more fury in Todd's anger.

"Alright then, time to take out the trash." Kokichi giggled, stepping forward before winking at Jamie. "Don't worry Miss Jamie, leave this to me!"

"Yeah! Kick his butt Kokichi!" Jamie yelled, which surprised the albino squirrel. He soon began letting out tears of joy and smiled happily.

"Never before in my life that I felt so joyful till I received it!" Kokichi said before smirking at Raccoon. "Now get ready Racky! Your reign of terror ends here! Because it's Koki Time!" As Kokichi was about to pounce at him, the van started making hard turns, causing the others to fall behind and landed into the bags of nuts', with Kokichi accidentally dropping the whistle in the process. Raccoon still kept his balance as he saw Kokichi dropping the dog whistle as he smirked and swiped it.

"Ha! Shiny!" Raccoon snorted before making his escape.

"Hey! Get back here!" Todd exclaimed, climbing up the van to see Raccoon jumping into the other van. With Todd angry and vengeful, the chase began as he went after Raccoon.

"Ugh..." Meanwhile, Kokichi slowly got out of the bags and took a deep breath and said "It's never going to be a thing, is it?"

"You think?" Jamie asked, which made Kokichi surprised to see her stuck next to him, much to his joy.

"And this day keeps getting better." Kokichi muttered until the moment was ruined as the car made another hard turn, causing Mole to launch himself from the door towards Jamie and Kokichi, knocking them further into the bags. "Ahh...nuts."

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	11. Chapter 10 - A Bond That Never Fades

_**Note: The Nut Job belongs to Universal Pictures and Toonbox Entertainment. The characters belongs to their respective characters except for Kokichi and Todd Lloyd as their belong to me and Dusk19.**_

"Ha…ha…ha…" Raccoon managed to get to the other van, where King and Knuckles were driving as he hid behind a bunch of bags, which contained the real ban money. Apparently, Fingers and Lucky discovered that the bags they had weren't money they stole from the national bank, but it was filled with nuts, causing them to realize that they were tricked by him, and that we was going to betray them since the very beginning of their heist.

Now, Raccoon and the rest of the park animals were caught up with this incident.

As the former park leader was trying to catch his breath after managing to escape from Todd and the others, he began overhearing King's conversation with his cohort.

"This is the life of luxury. Once we get out through the borders, there'll be no one to stop us." King laughed as Raccoon looked at the human with a glare before scoffing "Hmph! Ignorant humans."

"You!" Raccoon immediately turned around and became surprised to see Todd, who was glaring daggers straight at the park leader as he exclaimed "You murderer! How could you?! Surly was my friend and you!…You!"

"Friend? Heh heh heh…don't make me laugh, you annoying brat." Raccoon chuckled darkly before giving him the cold shoulder as he stated "Since did Surly ever cared about anyone? He only cared about himself since nobody bothered to be friends with him except for that annoying rat and that ignorant squirrel, Andie. So who cares?"

"I do! Andie does! Buddy too! We care about Surly! I'll admit…at first, Surly wasn't the type of hero-like thief I imagined." Todd admitted before making a serious and determined look on his face. "But over the past few days with him…he's been a great friend with me, and we've been through so much. He and I made a great bond with each other, and I'm so glad to finally meet him and the others. That's why…I'm gonna stop you and your plans! Your time of ruling over Liberty Park is over Raccoon!"

"You…!" Raccoon growled, almost ready to take him out until he gasped upon seeing someone else jumping down on the log with an angry and betrayed look on her face. "A-Andie?"

"Andie?!" Todd exclaimed, shocked to see her here. "H-how did you get here?"

"I managed to stay in balance from all that shaking from the van." Andie answered with a smile. "And then I followed you and Raccoon, and thought you needed help. Just thought I could pay you back for what I've done to Surly…" She then glared angrily at Raccoon, who flinched upon seeing her acting like this. "As well as for everything Raccoon done to me…no…everyone in Liberty Park."

"Andie…" Todd muttered as she walked over with an angry look as she said "You are nothing more than a dirty liar of a thief. Surly was right…I should've believed in him instead of having doubts…I should've been by his side the whole time, but instead, I wasn't…"

She put her paw on her chest and let out a tear. "I…caused all this because I picked over you, and not Surly because I thought if I sided with you and him at the same time, I could've made you both friends. But I instead ruined it, I've known Surly for years, but I wasn't able to feel what he felt from his heart!"

Raccoon formed a smirk and said "Well that's your own fault. If you were such an obedient little squirrel and actually listened to me, you would've been a useful successor into ruling Liberty Park with an iron fist, but instead, you chose to remain ignorant like Surly. So it's all your fault."

Andie winced from that comment before making a determined expression and said "Maybe you're right. Maybe I was ignorant and kept disobeying your orders. That would've been something Surly would say. At a time like this, I think he would've said: 'Just because I live in Liberty Park, I'm not gonna play by your rules! I have my own life and I'm gonna keep going on my own to the end!'. That sounds like something he would say, right?"

Todd smiled at her, seeing her standing up not for herself, but for Surly as well. "I think that's definitely something he would say, Andie! If Surly was still here, he would've been happy to see you say that."

"Thank you Todd." Andie smiled back before saying "And that's why I made up my mind! I'm gonna end all of this!"

"Hmph…you ignorant little brat! I knew I should have never picked you off the streets!" Raccoon snarled as he was about to pounce at her and Todd before they heard a gun clicking. They immediately looked back to see Knuckles raising a gun at them until King stopped him and said

"Whoa whoa whoa! Stop that! There's dynamite back there! If you shoot, it'll explode!"

"Dynamite?" Todd questioned before noticing a barrel of dynamite nearby. "Oh…how did we miss that?!"

Suddenly, before anyone could answer, the car immediately stopped when Knuckles hit the brakes as a whole squadron of police officers were blocking the borders to the other country. Andie maintained her balance before noticing a bag of nuts about to fall onto Todd.

"Todd! Watch out!" Andie warned, pushing him out of the way while she took the hit herself.

"Andie!" Todd yelled as he immediately ran to her and attempted to take the bag off of her. Raccoon noticed this as an opportunity to escape as he quickly made his get-away. Meanwhile, another squadron of cars were racing to the scene, with Surly on it. Apparently, he managed to survive the fall thanks to holding onto a bag of nuts before he was thrown out by Raccoon. He was trying to find a way to get to the others as quickly as possible until he heard a squadron of police cars heading his way, prompting him to have an idea. He somehow managed to get onto the cars and finally arrived to the scene.

 _"Hang on tight Todd! Buddy! Andie! Everyone! I'm coming!"_ Surly thought with a serious look before the cars stopped. He then jumped off the cars and rushed to the scene before hiding behind the second van, the one Fingers and Lucky were driving. He hid behind the car wheels before moving on towards the other van until he immediately stopped upon seeing Fingers and Lucky stepping out of the car as Surly managed to make sure that he wouldn't get stomped on.

"But all I ever wanted was a petting zoo!" Fingers complained.

"Get out." King demanded, holding his former associates at gunpoint. Apparently, after stopping, King went out of the car and forced his former associates to get out the car and threatened to shoot them with his gun, which forced them to do what he said.

"Let's go…" Lucky muttered as they both headed straight to the police, ready to get arrested.

"WAAAHAAA! I WANT MY MOMMY!" Fingers cried as he and Lucky kept walking with their hands up in the air. King smirked with satisfaction while Surly tried his best to avoid the man until he noticed Mole hiding behind a wheel.

"Mole? What are you doing here? And where's Todd and the others?" Surly asked in worried.

"T-the others are still in the van, but Andie and Todd are in the other van!" Mole answered. Surly looked over and gasped upon seeing Knuckles placing a box full of dynamite down in the front seat. Surly growled angrily at the human before dashing off to rescue Todd and Andie.

"S-Surly wait! Where do you think you're going?! Get back here! What's happened to you?!" Mole called, but Surly ignored him as he kept going to the van and climbed to the back, seeing Todd pulling the bag off of Andie and attempted to wake her up.

"Come on Andie! Wake up! Please!" Todd cried out.

"Todd!" Surly called, causing Todd's ears to perked up as he immediately turned around, seeing the purple squirrel still alive.

"S-Surly!" Todd exclaimed in joy before running over and hugging him, catching Surly by surprise.

"Well jeez, never thought of you as much of a hugger." Surly said, feeling embarrassed by it. "Anyway, what happened to Andie? And where's Raccoon?"

"Huh?" Todd wondered before looking over, seeing Raccoon was gone. "That dirtbag! He got away!"

"Seems like it." Surly sighed before running towards Andie and seeing her unconscious state. "Andie…"

"Oh right…she took the hit for me…I…I should've did taken it myself." Todd sighed sadly.

"No, don't blame yourself Todd. It's not your fault. She did it to protect you." Surly assured before turning to him and said "Now let's get out of here before we're blown to bits."

"Huh?" Todd asked with a surprised look. Before Surly could explain further, Knuckles lit up the dynamite before placing a brick on the gas pedal, causing it to start the engines as it roared out and blasted its way straight to the police officers in front of it. Some of them immediately hid themselves until one of them managed to grab his gun and shoot at it, aiming straight for the wheel, and causing it spiral out of control and hid the wall, nearly falling over. One of the police officers came out of their hiding spots and handing him a sprinkled doughnut, much to the officers' surprise.

Soon, Surly noticed the lit dynamite as he immediately grabbed both Todd and Andie by the arms before he ran out through the back door before the van fell down and exploded, and thanks to the powerful blast, it caused Surly and the others to fly farther up to the dam. Todd managed to grab onto the ledge before grabbing onto Surly's paw while he grabbed onto the red squirrel's paws'.

"Andie! Andie!" Surly called, attempting to wake her up. Soon, he managed to get through her as she slowly began to drift awake. She looked down and saw the waterfall, causing her to gasp in fright before looking up to see both Todd and Surly holding to her.

"Surly? Todd?!" Andie exclaimed in shock. "You two…saved my life."

"Y-yeah, just didn't want ya to die, that's all." Surly shrugged.

"But…thank you, you two." Andie smiled.

"Yeah, even if we got into the wrong start, it ain't right seeing you like this Andie." Todd added with a smile.

"Todd's right. After all…you are my friend." Surly smirked, causing Andie to giggle and said "Surly…thank you."

Suddenly, they felt the dam starting to break apart as cracks began to form around the place.

"Oh no!" Todd gasped as he attempted to life them up, but it was too late as the dam broke into pieces, causing the three rodents, including the other van from before to fall into the water.

"U-ugh…." Surly muttered as he looked around to find himself hanging onto a log as he looks around and sees that the water cuts into two paths: One that leads back to Oakton City and the other leads to a waterfall that could possibly lead someone to death. He then noticed that Andie and Todd weren't around.

"What? Todd? Andie!" Surly called.

"We're here Surly!" He turned around to see Andie and Todd drifting off in the water straight towards him. "Surly! Help us!"

Surly looked around until he noticed a branch near him. He managed to take it from its root and used it as an extension cord for Todd and Andie to grabbed. Andie grabbed onto it as they were lifted up to the log, and tried to catch their breath.

"Phew…thanks Surly." Todd said with a relieved smile.

"Anytime Todd." Surly smiled before turning to Andie and asked "How are you feeling Andie?"

"I-I'm okay. Thanks for asking for your concern." Andie replied with a soft grin.

"Sorry if I couldn't get Andie to the log." Todd sighed. "My arm is still sore due to Raccoon scratching it."

"Don't blame yourself Todd, all that matters is that you two are safe." Surly smiled.

"Thanks Surly." Todd smiled before looking around of their surroundings. "But man, are we sunk deep, eh?"

"You can say that again." Surly agreed. before he and Andie noticed how wet his headphones were wet. "Whoa Todd, are you okay?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Todd asked curiously.

"Your headphones…they're wet." Andie pointed out. "Are you sure they're safe to wear?"

"Oh yeah…" Todd said, noticing how wet they are. He raised his hands in surrender with a nervous grin and said "Don't worry about that. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Surly asked in concern. "What if they're water-damaged?"

"Nah, they're waterproof." Todd assured with a soft grin. "What's more important is that I'm glad that you two are safe."

Surly and Andie looked at him with surprised looks before they formed smiles at him.

"Well thanks Todd." Andie smiled before looking over the wreckage of the van. "Do you think the others are safe?"

"Yeah, of course." Surly shrugged. "Those guys are as strong as ever. I know they're alright."

"Oh…" Andie looked at Surly with a surprised look, which he and Todd noticed.

"What?"

"It's just that…I've never hear you feel concern for them." Andie admitted.

"O-oh…I was just saying, that's all." Surly rubbed his head bashfully with a nervous grin.

"I think Todd really did help you out. You've…really have changed Surly." Andie smiled, causing Surly to blush lightly at her. Todd couldn't help but smile softly, seeing these two finally getting along at last and not on different sides.

 _"Even if Andie was against Surly, she still tried to help him out by changing who he is. I'm…glad at least these two are finally getting along at last."_ Todd thought with a small smile.

Suddenly, the moment was ruined as they heard the door to the van slammed open, revealing Knuckles as he managed to get out of the van and started to get the log out of there while King started tossing sacks of money out of the van.

"Come on! We need to save the money!" King shouted, but his partner ignored him while trying to get the log out of the way. "W-what do you think you're doing?! There's more money in here!"

"Uh-oh! Looks like it's time to split, you two!" Todd shouted, which Surly and Andie agreed without hesitation as they immediately tried to get off the log until they noticed a familiar raccoon climbing onto the log with a furious look on his face while holding onto the dog whistle apparently.

"Raccoon!" Andie exclaimed in shock.

"You!" Todd growled, glaring at the former park leader.

"Surly! Let me at those brats! It's time for them to be taught a lesson about discipline." Raccoon snarled, ready to kill the two squirrels. However, Surly stepped in and stood in front of Raccoon, defending both Todd and Andie.

"No! You stay away from them!" Surly exclaimed, glaring angrily at him.

"W-what? Why are you doing this? Tell me why!" Raccoon demanded.

"Because…they gave me another chance! Todd has always been defending me since we first met! He always imagined me as a hero thief, but even after learning so much about me, he's still willing to defend me and always back me up! Along with Buddy! He started to make me realize that I shouldn't always be alone, not be arrogant and try to think for myself, but for others! After these past few days with him, he taught me compassion, think for others, and kindness. And…I think of him more than just a friend…"

"Surly…" Todd muttered, amazed by Surly's words.

"And Andie…she always been watching over me, trying everything to help me change into a caring squirrel and stop my thieving career. I never listened to her, and no matter what I've done to the park over the years, she tries her best to defend me. Even if she voted against me, you forced her to do so! Even if she tried to nearly threatened my life, she didn't knew what was going happened! She tries her best to make me change, but I never take her words. But after seeing her in danger…I realized that I can't let something like this ever happen again! I'm gonna protect my friends no matter what!"

"Surly!" Andie gasped, shocked to hear that coming out of his mouth.

"You!…Why I-" Before Raccoon prepared to attack Surly until he was hit in the back with a bag of nuts. Surly, Todd, and Andie became surprised to see that coming as the dog whistle landed in Todd's paws before they looked over where that come from, revealing to be Buddy and Kokichi.

"Heh heh, sorry Racky. Can't let you have all the fun to yourself." Kokichi said with a sly smirk.

"Kokichi!" Todd exclaimed with a smile and shouted "Thanks!"

"No problemo Toddy!" Kokichi chuckled.

"Ha ha! Buddy!" Surly chuckled, happy to see his best friend saving his life.

"Alright you guys, let's get out of here!" Andie shouted as the others began running to the other side of the log. Before Surly could cross, Raccoon regain consciousness and prepared to attack him. Todd noticed this and saw Knuckles almost ready to get rid of the log they were in. He soon realized that he's in possession with the dog whistle and that Knuckles seems to be affected by it too. Todd then blow into the dog whistle, causing Knuckles to cover his ears in pain, walking backwards towards the water fall. Before Raccoon could attack Surly, he noticed the shiny dog whistle, his instincts kicking in.

"The shiny! Give it to me!" Raccoon demanded until he noticed Knuckles about to fall on him. "NOOO-!"

Before you know it, he was fell on top of him as they both seemingly fell down the waterfall. Surly let out a sigh of relief before turning to the fox squirrel and said "Thanks for the save Todd."

"No problem Surly!" Todd gave him a thumbs up before saying "Now come on! Let's get out of here! Next stop! Liberty Park!"

Surly smiled at the fox squirrel, happy to see him getting excited at least. As Surly began running on all fours towards the van to meet up with everyone else, Raccoon re-emerged out of the water and grabbed onto Surly's legs, causing the purple squirrel to fall down and grabbed onto a small branch.

"Surly!" Andie called, seeing him in distress. Todd looks back and gasped in shock upon seeing Raccoon attempting to pull him into the waterfall.

"Well that just surprises me that he somehow came back and didn't fall down." Kokichi spoke aloud.

 _"How in the world did he not fall off?! Is it that hard to beat this guy?!"_ Todd thought in an irritated expression. "Surly! Hang on!" Todd yelled as he races towards Surly and used the dog whistle for him to use as a rope. Surly grabbed onto it and tried to shake Raccoon off, but no luck.

"Look! Surly, Todd, and Raccoon are about to fall off into the waterfall!" Mole pointed out, witnessing the scene.

"Everyone! We have to save them!" Andie declared.

"Don't have to tell us twice!" Kokichi exclaimed before he and the others rushed towards the scene and grabbed onto Todd. Andie, Kokichi, and Buddy held the dog whistle alongside Todd while Grayson, Mole, and Jamie held onto his tail as Mole held onto the tree branch to hold up the chain link.

"Come on you guys! You can do this!" Andie shouted.

"Let go! I-I mean don't let go!" Grayson added.

"Well this is certainly not what I expected." Kokichi muttered.

"Come on Surly! You can do this!" Todd yelled, trying his best to not let go. "You can do this!"

Buddy nodded in agreement, pulling off a sad expression of just thinking of the possibility of losing him after he finally accepted him as his friend.

"Surly! We'll get you out of there in no time!" Andie said.

"Never!" Raccoon hissed. "You back-stabbing vermin! Surly goes down with me!"

Surly looks back at Raccoon and then at his friends, realizing that if he doesn't manages to get back up to the log, they'll end up falling to the waterfall as well. Soon, he noticed the log slowly breaking in half. Surly then looks back at his friends, slowly forming a soft smile at them.

"Buddy…that was some heist, eh?" Surly asked with a light chuckle. "We nearly pulled it off."

Buddy looks at him with a surprised look as Andie and Todd widened their eyes in shock, realizing what Surly is planning to do, and it was most insane and suicidal! "Surly! Don't you dare let go!" Andie begged.

"Please Surly! Don't do this! Please!" Todd tearfully begged. "I-I need you Surly!" "Todd….It's okay. You gotta keep on going ahead without me." Surly assured.

"No! I can't! Why? Why can't you understand?! We've been together for a few days! We done everything together! And you…you!…Please Dad!…" Todd exclaimed in tears before realizing what he just called Surly. "…I-I mean, Surly! Don't let go!" It made his heart race too, and it's as if it brings him back to the day he watched his father die from cancer.

"Todd…" Surly muttered before forming a smile on his face straight towards the fox squirrel. He felt heart-warmed when the fox squirrel called him 'Dad' despite it being a mistake. "Heh, wow Todd. You just called me 'Dad'. Well then…stay strong for your old man….son…."

"What?!" Raccoon exclaimed, widening his eyes in shock.

And just like that, Surly lets go of the dog whistle and falls down on the waterfall with Raccoon.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Todd screams in agony, watching Surly falling down the waterfall. While falling down, Surly begins to reminiscing the days back when he was a little kit. All the heists he and Buddy been through, the times he faced in the trials, he was met up with Andie and how many times she tries to convince him to be good instead of bad, and everything.

 _"So it is true what they say about this kind of experience…everything flashes before your eyes…"_ Surly thought with a small smile as everything seemed to slow down from his fall. He then closed his eyes and heard a faint cry as he saw what it seems to be a human. But this human…it almost looked like… _"Todd….wow, can you believe it? I was a squirrel…of a promise….."_

And with that….Surly was nowhere to be seen as he was gone. Todd remained shocked while the others either held sad looks or tried to hold back their tears. Well…one of them isn't feeling the mood.

"Oh man…how?…" Kokichi muttered, not wanting anyone to hear. _"This…this sorta reminds me when I remember seeing the old man's death by depression ever since…."_ Kokichi darkened his face and looked away and secretly let out a tear.

"Surly…" Andie whimpered, letting out tears. Buddy closed his eyes and let out tears while Mole looked away, trying his best to hold back his tears. Jamie wiped away his tears while whimpering upon seeing Surly's sacrifice.

"U-ugh…" Grayson whimpered, letting out some tears. Andie covered her mouth and looked away, not wanting to believe what happened.

Todd gritted his teeth and let out tears, seeing what transpired as he sat down at the other end of the log, depressed and heartbroken upon witnessing Surly's sacrifice, reminding him of his father's death.

 _"Surly….why?"_ Todd thought, letting out tears.

"Surly….I'm sorry for ever being mean to ya!" Jamie cried.

Buddy held onto the dog whistle, clenching onto it real hard.

As everyone mourned for Surly's death, Andie looked over and noticed Todd sitting by himself at the other end of the log, his face showing heartbroken and depression as she came over and knelt down to him before placing a paw on his shoulder, and said "Todd….don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."

Todd sadly sighed as he kept gazing down on the drifting water and said "I…I know it isn't. It's just…why couldn't you guys just believe me and Surly at first? Why did you have to frame Surly? Why couldn't you just understand him and his feelings since the beginning?"

"We know, we know…" Andie nodded, wiping away his tears. "But…we understand the bond between you two. You two were always together and thought of each other more than friends, but…as father and son. It was so heartwarming to see you call Surly 'Dad' and he called you 'son'." Andie smiled softly with tears still visible to her eyes. Todd smiled back at her and rubbed his head bashfully before replying "Yeah, I don't know why I did that…"

"Because you cared for Surly." Andie answered, causing Todd to look back at her with a confused look as she continued "You and Surly shared a strong bond. You both had each other's back and understood one another. You two were meant to be together…I wished I had that strength you carried Todd."

"Y-yeah…" Todd nodded. Jamie, Mole, Grayson, Buddy, and Kokichi overheard their conversation as they watched and smiled over to see those two bonding and making up.

"And I'm sorry for everything I've done so far. Those things you told me that I could've done…You were right…I should've done them to Surly in the first place."

"Well yeah, but I take those stuff back Andie. After what you said to Raccoon back there…." Todd chuckled with a soft grin and said "I guess I was wrong. You really did care for him. I'm sorry for saying all that nasty stuff back at the nut shop."

"Thank you Todd." Andie wrapped one arm around Todd, and gave him a soft nuzzle before asking "So Todd…how did you do it? How did you see the good in Surly's heart? You must've known that all along when you two first met, even when he tried to make you go away during the nut cart raid."

"You're…you're right…and to think, I chose Surly over the park…and it made me into someone I wasn't supposed to be. What was I thinking?" Todd thought aloud.

"Todd…" Andie muttered as she and the others Kokichi, felt sad for the heartbroken fox squirrel.

"In fact, back before my father had died, I had promise him that I'd become a great man just like him…" Todd started whimpering and let out some tears again as he continued "I-I'm so sorry. This isn't me. Because of what happened to Surly, I…I can't think straight and….My god, it's my father all over again…"

With that, Todd sobbed and cried through his tears as he sat on the edge of the log, and Andie and Buddy looked at each other before they nodded to each other and walked over to Todd as they both sat down beside Todd with the fox squirrel in the middle and hugged him that way, comforting him. Jamie, Mole, Grayson, and even Kokichi felt bad for Todd too, glancing at each other sadly and rubbing their arms. Andie shushed the fox squirrel while she and Buddy rubbed his back.

"I-I'm sorry…I'm sorry for everything. I was such a traitorous brat. How could I be so blind?!" Todd cried out.

"It's okay Todd. Again, what happened to Surly isn't your fault. You weren't blind either, and you weren't a traitor or a brat. You were a handful though to be honest, but still." Andie smiled softly at him before letting out a tear and said "We forgive you, and so does your father. In fact, I suppose you really should have kept the promise you made to your father, but its okay. There's still time and still room to improve. It's not too late to make your father proud. But for now, I'm sure he'd be happy that you had made new friends with one of them you could look up to."

Todd wiped his tears, sniffling a bit before smiling towards her and said "Yeah…to be honest, Surly kinda is like a father to me…"

"Yeah. Thought…you were right. It's not my fault that I couldn't be kind to Surly sometimes, yet it is my fault that I had lost your respect. I was too harsh on Surly especially with the whistle, and I could have still showed kindness to him. There really were other options I could have used, and I should have known that my actions could have consequences. I also should have believed you both when you told us about Raccoon." Andie sighed sadly.

"And it's me and my brothers' fault for not understanding Surly or knowing that he existed a long time ago." Jamie said, causing Todd to turn back to see everyone else mourning for Surly's death.

"Come to think of it, he sure did become a thief and all because of everyone else back at the park…" Mole admitted.

"Sheesh…can ya blame Surly and Todd now?" Jamie rubbed her head bashfully.

"No…" Mole replied, sniffling a bit.

Jamie sighed before turning back to the fox squirrel with a soft smile and said "Listen, Todd. We're sorry for everything, too."

Todd nodded before standing up and coming to Jamie while rubbing his arm and said "It's okay. In fact, I'm sorry for being too hard on you and your brothers. Mostly toward Andie though, but you guys as well. You and your brothers aren't immature as I thought…"

"Thanks kiddo." Jamie chuckled, giving him a noogie as it made the fox squirrel laugh. "Tell ya what Todd. Until you can get back on your feet and find your mother, I'll tell my brothers everything what just happened and ask them to let you be the fourth Bruiser."

"R-Really?" Todd asked incredulous.

"Yeah. We could use a new recruit like you. Besides, it's the least I can do. Also, since Johnny's the leader, it's up to him." Jamie rubbed her head bashfully with a sheepish look.

Todd softly smiled at her before saying "Thanks Jamie. I was wrong about you and your brothers. You're actually pretty cool." Jamie smiled back at him, happy to hear that Todd trusts her and the brothers again.

"And you can be my trusty sidekick!" Grayson announced, causing everyone to give the gray squirrel a deadpanned look, making the so-called 'park hero' to rub his head bashfully with a sweat-drop and a nervous smile.

"Really? At this time and moment?" Kokichi asked.

"What? What I'm saying is we could go around fighting crime, helping those who're in need, saving the-"

"Aaaaand….the moment is ruined." Kokichi shrugged with a deadpan look. "Yeah. Way to go Grayson."

"Hey!" Grayson yelled out of offensive.

"Actually Grayson…" Todd spoke up with a soft smile, gaining the park hero's attention. "I looked into it. Oh, and despite your…flaws, you're not an immature child. You're still a friend, and we should be grateful and thankful for your heroism."

Grayson chuckled as he rubbed his head bashfully with a grin. Jame then to Mole with a sweet smile.

"Oh, and Mole?"

Mole rubbed his head bashfully with a nervous smile while blushing, thinking as of Jamie could finally be interested in him.

"No! No!" Kokichi exclaimed, looking off-screen at the writers. "You stop that! No! She's gonna be interested in me! You stop that writers! You stop that! Besides, who would ship that ugly animal with miss Jamie? That's ridiculous!"

Everyone looked at the white squirrel with blank looks as Mole gave a glare at him and shouted "Hey! I take offense of that!"

"Riiiight…" Jamie sighed before turning to Mole and it wasn't before long she suddenly clenched her fist and punched Mole in the stomach. "That's for working with that backstabbing Raccoon and for nearly drowning my brothers!"

Todd nodded in agreement with Jamie while looking sternly at Mole.

"Yeah. I almost forgot about that. Thanks, Jamie." Todd said with a stern look towards Mole.

"Sheesh! I said I was sorry earlier! What will it take to get some respect around here?" Mole complained.

"Don't worry, Mole. We forgive you too, and you're still our friend. But next time, think twice on whose side you're on or who you work with." Todd said sternly.

"Alright. I get it. Geez. Can we please just drop it?" Mole asked tiredly.

With a smirk, Jamie turned away from Mole before answering him.

"Sure we can…" With that and right before he'd even know it, Jamie offhand-backhanded Mole, knocking him out and making him fall onto the log in a daze. As for Todd though, he was happy that he could be friends with the gang again but then he sighed as he was back to being sad about the loss of his father figure, Surly. The same can be said for Andie as she knew that Surly never deserved to die despite him being a former park criminal. Buddy was still sad too and heartbroken over the loss of his purple best friend, having no purpose in life without him as well.

"You know though, I'm glad we could make up, but it still doesn't bring back Surly." Todd said, rubbing his arm.

"We know…In fact, I miss him too just as much as you do. He never deserved this…Oh Surly!"

With that, a heartbroken Andie shed tears and sobbed. That made Todd feel bad for her as he came over to her and hugged her before everybody else except Buddy and Kokichi joined in, turning it into a group hug as they comforted her. Buddy, however, felt like he needed some time alone at the moment since he was just as broken-hearted as the red squirrel was. As for Kokichi…

"How traumatic…" Kokichi stated. "Oh well, everything will go alright."

"Huh?" Todd looked at the white squirrel with a surprised look, seeing the white squirrel not mourning at all. "You're not…crying?" "I was a minute before, but I stopped. I guess I should've expected Surly to fall to his doom in the first place." Kokichi shrugged. "After all, it was all according to plan…my plan, that is."

"Plan? What are you talking about?!"

Kokichi let out a tired sigh and said "Well…since we're near the end. You see Toddy, have you ever thought why I ever met you at the alleyway? Because that where's my first phase of the plan came to light."

"What?! Then that means…you were waiting for me…then that means…" Todd gasped before looking at the albino squirrel with a glare and said "You planned all this?! That fortune cookie!"

"Yeah and no. A couple of my friends gave you that little fortune themselves. All I did was carried out the plan, and well…I had to make some changes in it." Kokichi smirked.

"You kept mentioning it…what is that plan about Kokichi?" Andie demanded.

"….To make both Surly and Todd come together and make a strong bond with each other." Kokichi answered with a smile, causing Todd and the others to widened their eyes in shock. "See, as you know, these two faced different issues in the past. Toddy lost his own man, losing himself in the process while Surly felt lonely and did anything to gain attention which made him take a dark path. Not literally a dark path, more like a stupid decision. But anyway, this was a simple plan to make you two get along and become friends, and sooner or later, more than friends. You two would think of each other as father and son figures."

"You….did this all for me and Surly?" Todd asked slowly. "But…why?"

"….I have my reasons." Kokichi shrugged in a nonchalant look on his face. "Besides, just following orders from a couple of old friends. But anyway, when Surly got banished, I talked to him about you taking in the punishment as I used that to make him feel concern in the inside while I took your punishment in order for you to go after him. That's where Andie comes in, and I bugged her into like I usually do, causing her to feel so frustrated that she wouldn't think straight."

"So wait….that means! Back when I confronted Surly at the metal door…you annoyed me on purpose to get me and Todd become enemies?!" Andie exclaimed, feeling angry to hear that.

"Well yeah, to teach old Toddy to learn about who he trusts and how to regain that trust back." Kokichi replied.

"I don't believe it!" Todd exclaimed, glaring at the albino squirrel. "So was Surly falling down the waterfall your part of the plan?!"

"Come to think of it…he did say something about bonds having to be sacrificed." Jamie agreed, glaring daggers at him.

"…Well no. I was just exaggerating myself, so I guess not. Although, there was always a 50% possibility he would've done something crazy and insane like that. Which is ironic for someone like me." Kokichi chuckled.

"So wait…you thought this would happened?!" Mole gaped.

"More or less, but I did this all for Toddy and Surly to get along and one day, they both will conquer and leave their pasts." Kokichi explained before covering his mouth in deep thought while glancing away from them. _"It's the same for me…I left everything behind since my demise…"_

"You…you did this all…to get me and Surly to come together? Then everything…that was all you?" Todd asked in shock.

"Not necessary. Most of the stuff like planning the Nut Shop heist and such wasn't done by me, mostly by you guys. Although, my real intention of the plan was to get Racky out of his little throne." Kokichi smirked.

"What?" Jamie asked in confusion.

"I already knew that Racky was a crime boss ever since I came to Liberty Park. It's not that hard to know." Kokichi shrugged in a nonchalant look.

"What?! You knew?!" Grayson jaw-dropped.

"The whole time. I would've told everyone, but since you guys were so loyal to your park leader, I knew nobody would've believed me, along with Surly due to his reputation. He and I knew him, but we kept it to ourselves." Kokichi explained before letting out a chuckle. "Heh heh…but it was quite fun seeing him die like that…I hope."

"No way…" Todd muttered, darkening his face. "Then everything…when you told me about Andie's past, you did that to make me feel concern for her in order to gain me back my trust to her."

"And when you told me before the heist began about hoping to trust Todd again…you did that for us?" Andie asked incredulous.

"Sure, why not. I felt bad for you guys, so what?" Kokichi shrugged. "Although Toddy, I'll tell you more later. Just catch up with me." "Huh? Where?" Todd demanded.

"I'll give ya a little hint: It's where you gotten this." Kokichi pulled something out of his fur coat, shocking Todd while confusing everyone.

"The fortune cookie?! That's where you kept it?!" Todd exclaimed.

"Well yeah. It's magic after all! Besides, why else are you a fox squirrel?"

"What?"

"Duh! Your name stands for 'fox'. You didn't know?" Kokichi asked.

"No?" Todd answered with a raised brow.

"Whatever…" Kokichi sighed before forming a smirk. "But also, don't feel bad about Surly." "Why wouldn't I be?! Surly's gone!" Todd glared at him as he chuckled and said "Oh you'll see. You guys are gonna be in a big surprise."

This confused everyone by what he meant by that. Does Kokichi know something that they don't?

Soon, Kokichi put the fortune cookie back in his fur coat while Todd took off his headphones and looked at them while in deep thought.

 _"What are you talking about, Kokichi? Just…what? Do you know something? After all, you planned all this…just for me and Surly…it didn't sound like you were following orders…it sounds like you did it out of your own heart. Maybe you do have you a heart and soul after all."_ Todd thought, forming a small smile. With that, they began to head straight over back to Oakton City as their heist came to an end.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

Meanwhile, back at the park as the animals were waking up from their slumber and get ready for the day, one of them noticed a nut floating adrift towards the mill as a groundhog picked it up out of curiosity.

"Is this…?" The groundhog muttered as he and his other friends looked at each other in surprised before seeing more water rising up, causing them to back away from it as the mill started running crazy due to the amount of water it was coming. All the park animals witnessed this before one of them noticed the gang that participated the Nut shop heist drifting down the river on bags of nuts.

"Look!" One of the park animals pointed out. "It's Grayson and the others!"

"Ah ha ha! Yes! Thank you everyone!" Grayson waved at them, having all the praise and awe from others. "You can have my autograph, but please don't touch the tail."

Todd shook his head while Kokichi face-pawed himself at the gray squirrel's stupidity.

 _"This guy…has a lot to go."_ Kokichi thought, shrugging in exasperation.

Soon, Andie noticed the wheel spinning too fast as she realizes that it could possibly kill them.

"The wheel! Everyone! Jump!" Andie yelled, which the others did so without hesitation. Todd and the others managed to get back on the mainland as the other park animals stopped cheering and looked on, seeing Grayson not moving as he kept waving his arms at the crowd. "Grayson!" Andie called as Grayson soon noticed everyone stopped waving and cheering.

"H-hey…what's going on? Why are you all stopped cheering?" Grayson wondered before turning around and panicked upon seeing why. It was too late for him to get out of there as he was scooped out of the wheel and launched in the air as everyone watched him land straight at the Grand Oak Tree's stump. "Oww…"

"Hey! Grayson!" Grayson popped out of the stump, and looked down, seeing both Johnny and Jimmy down there.

"Wait…you two guys are here too?" Grayson asked before waving his paws at them and said "Hi!"

The two brothers waved back at him with smiles on their faces while the others raced back to where Grayson landed as a chipmunk let out a chuckle and said "Come on everyone!"

With that, all the park animals race towards to Grayson as they all thought he saved the day by delivering all the nuts to them. As for the nuts, they got scooped into the mill's wheel as well and before you know it, it was raining nuts all over the park. As for Todd, Kokichi, Buddy, and Andie, they remained where they stood as the three were still depressed of Surly's death while Kokichi just didn't bother with celebrating about Grayson 'saving the day' and all that.

"Well, gotta go. And Toddy, remember. Catch up with me if you want to hear more from me about my little plan." Kokichi said before walking off and letting out peace signs without turning back.

"Kokichi…" Todd muttered before putting back on his headphones with a heavy sigh.

"Well…that's it then." Andie sighed. "What now?"

"Well…if anyone needs me, I'll be somewhere else." Todd muttered before walking off with Buddy tagging along, wanting to comfort the fox squirrel more. Andie understood this and took her leave, wanting to give him more space to take this all in.

Meanwhile…a familiar criminal was seen getting out of the river with an exhausted look.

"Ha…ha…ha…" King muttered before getting up and tried to run out of the park until he was surrounded by a bunch of park animals running straight past of him. King looks around in fear before noticing a little blue mouse screaming and pointing straight at him, causing him to freak out as he immediately ran out of this crazy scene and finally managed to find the exit of the park, but unfortunately for him…the whole place was surrounded with police officers, who apparently knew where King was.

"Freeze!" One of the police officers shouted, causing King to raise his hands in the air before kneeling down and started whimpering.

"Oh please! Take me away officers! Away from those rodents!" King pleaded, but what he didn't expect was to see his former girlfriend and one of his co-horts former pet.

"Percy King Dimpleweed…" Lana spoke up, crossing her arms with a stern look. "You and I are officially threw."

King didn't bothered to answer her as he continued to cry in despair until the police officers came over and took him to one of their police cruisers in hopes of arresting this man for good. Lana crossed her arms, still angry for King ever lying to her until she noticed Precious walking off into the park.

"Hey Precious, where you going girl?" Lana asked, but Precious kept sniffing on the ground like she was trailing something. Andie was seen sitting on one of the park fences with a sad and depressed look on her face, thinking about Surly.

Meanwhile, Todd and Buddy were seen sitting on Surly's hideout tree, where he devised his plans and where they first met each other.

 _"It doesn't feel the same without Surly around…"_ Todd thought with a sad look.

"Psst! Buddy! Todd!" Buddy and Todd heard their names being called as they looked down to see Precious looking at them.

"Precious?" Todd asked, surprised to see her again.

"Come on. There's something you two need to see." Precious insisted, which the two rodents looked at each other in confusion, wondering what she's talking about. They soon climbed down the tree and followed after the pug until she led them to the river, where Todd and Buddy widened their eyes upon seeing a familiar purple squirrel laying down on the ground, washed up beside the river. The three were devastated yet heartbroken, especially Todd and Buddy.

"So…I guess this is it, huh? Surly's….gone…Dear god, it really is my father all over again…" Todd muttered, shedding a tear but held back his crying and remembered what Surly had told him before he had made his sacrifice.

 _"Well then, stay strong for your old man…son…"_

The fox squirrel also once again started to remember what his father had told him, too.

 _"Become a great man like your old man. I know you will…I'll be watching over you…Todd…"_

To Todd, all that almost meant that he should stay strong for those he loses. He understood those words from both men as he held back his tears and chose not to cry, staying strong for his purple friend.

 _"Farewell….Dad."_ Todd thought, holding back the tears before darkening his face. Buddy walked over to Surly's body and lied down next to the purple squirrel before letting out a tear as he spoke his very first words.

"Best….friend…" Todd overheard this and became shocked to hear the blue rat speaking those words as he came over to Buddy and knelt down to him as he placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, making the rat look up at him with tears before the fox squirrel gave him a small smile of encouragement.

"Buddy…it's gonna be okay." Todd assured. "I'm just as heartbroken over Surly as you are, but you remember what he told me before his fall, right? He told me to stay strong for him, and that's what you must do too. It was also one of the things my father meant, too."

Todd then sadly smiled at Buddy and adds "And besides, at least I still have you and everyone else from the park. After all, you kinda are like an uncle to me."

Feeling heart-warmed by that, Buddy sadly yet softly smiled back at the fox squirrel while still having tears as he nodded in response and understood.

Todd then helped Buddy back up before sadly looking back at the dead purple squirrel. Precious then howled in sadness and loss, seemingly gaining the attention of a familiar red squirrel, who was still holding onto the dog whistle she noticed on the ground when Todd took his leave. Todd, Buddy, and Precious sadly gazes at Surly before they started to take their leave so that the purple squirrel could be in peace. Just then…a sudden miracle happened.

"U-ugh…my head…" The three widened their eyes before slowly turning around and saw what they thought their eyes playing tricks on them. It was Surly…standing on his own two feet. Surly notices this and looks back, wondering why are they staring him like that. "What?" He asked.

Buddy slowly began forming a huge grin on his face as he rushes him to hug Surly, only to stop himself upon thinking that maybe he doesn't want to due to past experiences. But what Buddy didn't expect was Surly grabbing him and hugged him back with a smile. Buddy hugs him back, feeling joyful to see him once more and finally relieved to see Surly changing.

"S-Surly!" Todd yelled before running into the group hug as well, happy and relieved to see him still alive.

"Wait, Buddy, did you just…speak?" Surly asked in confusion.

"He did Surly, and I heard him." Todd chuckled. "He had called you…his best friend."

Buddy nodded in agreement with a smile, and Surly smiled at his rat sidekick before saying "Huh…okay."

That was when Precious came over and started licking the purple squirrel, causing him to chuckle as he said "Okay! Okay! I get it! You like me!"

"Hey, just thought I would be doing something nice as well." Precious smiled. "But anyway, gotta go. See ya later at the nut shop."

"Wait, that place?" Surly asked.

"Yeah! Lana's the new owner there." Precious replied.

"Lana? You mean that woman that released me and Surly? She's…gonna be owning the nut shop?" Todd asked incredulous.

"Yup! You guys can go there and hang out anytime." Precious insisted. "Oh, and next time, no bites. Just licks, alright?" Precious chuckled.

"Oh great…" Surly sighed. Precious then began walking away to meet up with her owner, bumping into Andie in the way as she gazed in shock towards seeing Surly alive.

"Oh hey Andie." Precious said, not noticing the shocked look on her face.

"S-Surly?" Andie muttered, which gained the three rodents' attention.

"H-hey Andie." Surly waved, feeling a bit awkward seeing her like this. Andie immediately ran straight towards him and looked at his body, wondering if this wasn't an illusion, but once she confirmed that it wasn't an illusion, she embraced Surly in relief and happiness as well, much to Buddy's joy while Todd couldn't help but form a small smile at them.

"When you went down the falls, I-I thought you were…" Andie muttered as Surly hugged her back.

"Hey, it's okay. I-I'm fine. Just as well." Surly assured with a grin.

"Surly's right. I'm glad you two are back together." Todd chuckled. "Also, sorry for everything I've said to you."

"Like I said Todd, I forgive you, and I apologized too about going too hard on Surly." Andie stated. "Besides, you were the one who helped Surly get out of his criminal ways. You're the real hero Todd."

"No, Surly is. He was the one that managed to get all the nuts to the park after all." Todd reminded her.

"Right…" Andie nodded before realizing something. "Oh right! We gotta go! Now!"

Andie grabbed Surly's paw and began dragging him, much to his confusion as he said "W-whoa whoa whoa! Wait! What's this all about?"

"You risk your life to save this park! Everyone has to know!" Andie exclaimed in excitement.

"Yeah Surly! You're a real hero!" Todd added with a smirk.

However, Surly shook his head in refusal and said "No."

"Huh?" Andie and Todd asked in confusion.

"W-what do you mean Surly? You saved the park from Raccoon and got the nuts here to the park. Everyone needs to know that you're a real hero and no longer the person who you were." Todd said.

"No Todd, we all did…as a team." Surly said with a smile, surprising the group. "We defeated Raccoon together, we got all the nuts to the park together, we all did it together."

"Well, when you put it like that…you make a good point." Todd rubbed his head bashfully.

Andie turned to Surly with a concern expression and asked "So…what are you gonna do?"

Surly looks down at the dog whistle on the ground. Once Andie saw Surly was alive, she dropped it in the process. He picked it up and gazes at it before saying "I'm gonna keep looking for food and give it to the park, but this time…"

He showed the dog whistle in front of Andie and finished "We do this together. Deal?" Andie formed a soft smile and said "This park will always honor your deals."

"Yeah, same here. I'll always help out Liberty Park with another food crisis. You can trust us on that." Todd smiled.

Surly, Buddy, and Todd soon looked at each other with smiles on their faces as the former two rodents started to take their leave. Todd followed after them as well too but stopped and turned back to Andie hesitantly, knowing that she might not be okay with this.

"O-Oh Andie, listen…umm…"

Andie let out a chuckle before smiling over at the fox squirrel as she said "It's okay, Todd. You can with them. After all, Surly is your hero, after all."

Todd smiled happily before shouting "YES!"

Andie then looked at Surly as she asked "Promise me that you keep Todd safe, please?" "Andie, don't you know who you're talking to? I am great with kids after all. You can trust me" Surly winked with a smile while Buddy waved goodbye to her. "We're just gonna head over to the nut shop to get a quick bite to eat from the nut shop."

"Alright, just good luck and be careful." Andie said with a soft smile. The trio nodded before giving her a two-finger salute before they took their leave from the park, leaving the red squirrel with the dog whistle as she smiles happily at them, knowing that they'll do great helping the park.

Surly, Buddy, and Todd were seen standing on top of a telephone poll and watching the park live on happily ever after, much to their joy as they were cheering on for Grayson.

"Alright everyone! Settle down. Stop. Don't touch the tail. STOP TOUCHING THE TAIL!" They heard Grayson yell in exasperation, causing them to chuckle a little.

"Ya know, kiddo." Surly turned to Todd with a smile and said "They say life's there for the taking, but truth is? Life's really there for sharing. Once you realize that, you might discover there's a little hero on all of us. And you know what else? You made me learn so much throughout the whole time. You even taught me what it feels like to care about someone and what it's like to not only have an admirer…but a son too."

Todd wore a look of awe and astonishment as he asked "Wow, um…really?"

"Absolutely, champ. Absolutely." Surly nodded.

Buddy happily nodded to Todd in agreement, and the fox squirrel smiled at the two before thankfully saying "Thanks guys. You're the best, and I'm glad I met you."

"Hey, what more can I say? We're all a little nuts." Surly chuckled. "Come on, let's go to the nut shop to celebrate."

"Actually…" Todd made a serious expression and said "There's somewhere I wished to go. It's very important."

"Oh really?" Surly asked with a curious expression. "Where's that exactly?" "Don't worry, I think it's not far, but I think there's a place where I can find more answers about why I was transformed into a fox squirrel." Todd assured. "So…are you in?" Surly and Buddy looked at each other for a moment before they each wore grins on their faces.

"Are you kidding? Of course! We'll follow you to the ends of the world! Right Buddy?" Surly asked his rat sidekick, who nodded in agreement. Todd smiled happily at them and said "Thanks you guys! Let's get to it now!"

"Lead the way, kiddo." Surly smiled. Todd nodded as Buddy climbed down the telephone pole first, leaving Surly and Todd to turn to the off-screen with smirks and winked at them before they left and went down the pole as well, heading straight to a place to catch up with a certain albino squirrel.

 ** _To Be Continued_**


	12. Epilogue - Our Paths Will Cross Again!

**_Note: The Nut Job belongs to Universal Pictures and Redrover, along with its characters. The OC, Todd Lloyd, belongs to me and Dusk19._**

"Kokichi! Kokichi!"

Todd, Surly, and Buddy soon arrived to the rooftop of Yummi Chinese Kitchen, looking and calling for Kokichi.

"Great, where did he go?" Surly wondered aloud. "Seriously, that guy always gives me the creeps and always love isolating himself while making gags and pranks one after another."

Buddy couldn't help but agreed with Surly on that.

"Yeah, so do I." Todd nodded in agreement before saying "But still, Kokichi knows so much about the fortune. I don't know why he wants us to be here, but my guess is that it must be very important."

"Indeed, you are right Toddy." They all yelp in surprise before they turned around to see Kokichi, standing out of the shadows with a smile. "Also, thanks for the compliment Surly. You know, I guess we mistook one another after you sacrificed yourself for us all, even me. I'm proud of ya. Now that's heroic."

"Shut up Kokichi." Surly said, not eager to hear more of his insanity. "I did it for all of you and I wanted to end my thieving career. So I don't want to hear anything about who I was before, just think of me as the squirrel I am today. So just get to the point, now."

"He's right Koki." Todd formed a serious look and asked "Please, just tell us more about the fortune."

"…Wow." Kokichi said with a blank look. "You two really have changed and gotten stronger for the past few days. If I was a total fan nerd, then I would've been disappointed, but seeing me right now, makes me feel…happy."

"Uhh…okay?" Todd, Surly, and Buddy looked at each other in confusion, feeling more weirded out by him. "Anyway…what's this about a fortune Todd talks about?"

"Oh right, you weren't there during that scene." Kokichi cleared his throat before taking out the fortune out of his fur coat with a grin and explained "Well you see, this fortune in my hands is the direct reason why your son-figure here is a fox squirrel."

"Really?" Surly asked, feeling intrigued about it. He looks down at Todd before turning back to the albino squirrel. "So Todd became one because of the fortune? If so, then why do you have it then?"

"Because I wanted to make sure he didn't try to use it to turn himself human at all." Kokichi explained. "But I gotta say Toddy, it's quite surprising that the sisters decided to use this old fortune again. You're the second person to ever read this fortune and transformed into a squirrel."

"W-what? Really?!" Todd asked incredulous.

"Yep-a-doodles! Tee-hee." Kokichi giggled. "But you know, it's an honor to see you now abandoning the past and accepting the future today."

"Well true Koki, but I'm not completely gonna forget the past." Todd replied, confusing the albino squirrel.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm still gonna keep my dad's promise on becoming a great man just like him." Todd smiled brightly, which made Surly and Buddy feel happy for him as the purple squirrel ruffled his hair a bit.

"Yeah! Same here! I'm going to change and help feed the park. Sure my deeds were quite wrong, but I'm sure I can redeem them and make up to everyone in no time." Surly chuckled while Kokichi blinked in surprise.

"Well dang…that was pretty surprising." Kokichi stated bluntly before forming a smirk. "Well…looks like you two indeed learned your lessons."

"Thanks Koki…" Todd smiled before realizing one thing. "Wait, you mentioned about me being the second. You mean, this happened before?"

"Yeah, you can say that. The only difference is that you're gonna be turned back anyway." Kokichi chuckled, causing Todd to feel grimace upon hearing that.

 _"So I'm the second one to be turned into one but I'm only gonna be turn back into a human?"_ Todd thought, feeling worried about that.

"Wait a minute…" Surly looked at Kokichi, feeling suspicious about this. "Are you absolutely sure that this will work?"

"Well…there's always that 99.9 percent that it wouldn't work, but that's only a myth!" Kokichi laughed, ignoring the dry looks they were giving him.

"…I don't know if I find it funny or insulting?" Todd thought aloud.

"Technically, neither did any of us." Surly sighed as Buddy crossed his arms and shook his head at the albino squirrel's little joke. Todd let out a sigh before looking at Kokichi with a curious look and asked "Anyway, I have a question, Kokichi."

"As long it isn't my weight or why I was born with this fur color, then go ahead! Ask away!" Kokichi grinned.

"How did you meet the sisters that works here? If they planned this to get me and Surly to work together to make us feel close to each other, then why did you help out?"

Kokichi stopped grinning before darkening his face a bit, feeling depressed over about that subject.

"I…think its best if we didn't ask that Todd." Surly said, now feeling concern for the white squirrel.

"You're right. Sorry if I asked." Todd apologized, noticing the look on his face. Kokichi quickly formed a smirk and said "No no! It's alright! I'll tell ya to your little dumb minds."

"Huh?" Todd and Surly asked while Buddy tilted his head in confusion.

"I've been going here everyday since when I was a kit. The girls here are quite nice on giving me free noodles. Only problem is that they didn't like one of my ideas to help make their restaurant good." Kokichi sighed, forming a sad look.

"Really? Like what?" Surly questioned.

"Bagel Noodle soup!" Kokichi answered, only to receive blank looks on their faces. "Come on! It's wonderful! I mean, does nobody appreciates the bagels anymore nor wanna make memes out of it?"

"I don't think that's the problem…." Todd face-pawed himself, hearing all this about some Bagel Noodle soup from him. I mean, who would've come up with that? "But anyway, there's something else I have to ask you."

"Hm? Yes?" Kokichi tilted his head a bit, putting a finger on his mouth with a curious and innocent look.

"What…ever happened to the last one who used this fortune?" Todd wondered.

Kokichi paused at this before letting out a chuckle and said "Nee-hee-hee! It's so obvious to you guys! You already met him during the course of this journey."

"What?" Todd, Surly and Buddy looked at each other in confusion, wondering what he meant by that.

"Hold on…then…" Surly thought for a while before he widened his eyes in shock upon realizing something about that part. "Does that mean that…"

"Ooh, seems like somebody managed to figure it out, huh?" Kokichi giggled. "Yup! I'll admit it! It's me!"

The three rodents stared at him for a moment before holding shocked expressions on their faces.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" They exclaimed in shock. Kokichi simply chuckled with a sly grin before saying "Were you guys really surprise? I'm pretty sure the audience could've figured it out faster from some of the chapters." Kokichi turned off-screen and winked at the viewers with a sly smile before turning back to the three rodents and said "But yeah, I'm too a human-turned-squirrel thanks to the fortune."

"S-so wait? Then that means…you were human before? Even as a little kit?" Surly questioned, his face feeling shocked while Buddy's expression was turning a bit pale upon learning that info.

"Well duh Surly!" Kokichi snapped his fingers with a smirk. "I always been a squirrel thanks to the fortune that turned Toddy here into a fox squirrel. Nee-hee-hee! It was quite fun being a squirrel!"

"Really?" Todd asked, feeling a bit nausea after hearing that. "I can't believe it. I supposed…that explains a few things like how you knew so much about the fortune."

"Yep! But man, I'm glad this adventure is over with. It was difficult…Well not really, it was pretty much easy with you guys doing all the hard work, but I managed to make you guys see each other more than friends and you guys helping each other let go of the past." Kokichi chuckled.

"Well even so, we thank you for that." Surly smiled before asking "So why help us? I highly doubt someone like you would be eager to pull this off."

"…Oh ho ho! I was just doing a solid for the sisters who are watching over this place." Kokichi grinned. "They thought with my experience of this that I can get Toddy here to appreciate you and you two will recognize each other more than friends, but as father and son."

"Well still, we still thank you Kokichi." Todd smiled. "Even with your…randomness, I guess you're pretty much a cool guy…in your own way, that is."

"Ahh, thanks Toddy." Kokichi smiled. "And if it makes ya feel any better, I wasn't against Surly and never sided with the park due to Raccoon. You may say that I was just cheering from the sidelines."

"R-really?" Surly asked in surprise.

"Yep. You were just someone like me…always seeking attention to not feel alone." Kokichi nodded with a smile, but Todd saw through this and must've felt his sadness.

"Kokichi…" Todd muttered. "Hey, if you were here as a kit and been stuck like this, but you knew that the only way was to transformed back into a human was this fortune in your hands, then why didn't you?"

"Todd has a point. I mean, I think your parents might miss ya, Kokichi." Surly nodded in agreement, causing Kokichi to frown at them.

"…It's not that simple. I tried to, but it never worked until I realize why." Todd, Surly, and Buddy became confused on what Kokichi meant by that as they tried to talk to him more until they heard someone crying.

"What the?" Surly wondered as Buddy walked over to the edge of the building, along with the others as they looked down and saw someone Todd wouldn't believe to encounter.

"M-mom?!" Todd blurted out as they saw it was Todd's mother, Alexa. She was sitting down on the restaurant's outside bench as she buried her face with her hands, letting out whimpers and tears streaming down her face.

"T-Todd! Where are you?" Alexa mourned. "It's all my fault…first Ben, now Todd. I promised that I'll keep Todd safe, but instead, I made things worse! Now Todd's missing and the police can't trace him down! I'm such a terrible mother!"

Todd felt heartbroken upon hearing that, hearing his mother mourning for his disappearance. She's been looking for him for the past few days during his adventures in Liberty Park. "Mom…" Todd muttered, letting a tear streamed down his eye.

"You must really miss her, huh?" Surly asked, looking at the fox squirrel with a sad and worried look.

"Yeah. I've been hanging out with you guys a lot that I almost forgotten about her." Todd sadly smiled. Surly and Buddy looked at each other with concern looks before softly smiling at each other and hugging Todd, which caught him by surprise before smiling over and embracing their hug. Kokichi looks at them, softly smiling at them and feeling glad that they were getting along.

 _"Well, there's something that this kid had that I didn't. Unlike him, he has a loving mother and a great father that he looked up to. As for me…I had nothing…I was all alone because my mother…and my father…"_ Kokichi didn't noticed that he let some tears dropped down while he darkened his face, reminiscing some memories from his childhood. He soon wiped them away and formed a smirk before letting out a whistle, gaining the three rodents' attention.

"Well alright, it looks like it's time for you to go home Toddy." Kokichi handed Todd the fortune, placing it in his paws. Todd looks over the fortune with a surprised look before looking over at Kokichi and said "Kokichi…you're really gonna give it to me?"

"Trust me kid, I got no reason to go back to my old life. It was plain dull and boring. My new life here as a squirrel is quite great here." Kokichi grinned.

 _"He may say that, but still…"_ Surly looks over at the albino squirrel with a worried and concern look, noticing that Kokichi was lying about that part. After all, he knows how to properly lie as well.

"O-Okay…but still…" Todd looks over at the fortune cookie with a sad look, realizing that once he chants the spell, he'll go back as a normal, but he would leave Surly, Buddy, and the others behind too.

"It's alright Todd." Surly put a paw on Todd's shoulder, catching him by surprise.

"W-whoa! Surly!" Todd looked over at Surly with a surprised look.

"Hey, don't worry kiddo, it was actually quite fun hanging out with ya. Even Buddy can agree, right old pal?" Buddy nodded with a smile, which made Surly chuckled before turning back to the fox squirrel and continued "And besides, you wouldn't want your mother to keep crying over you, right?"

"…No, not at all." Todd shook his head, slowly forming a smile before looking at the three rodents and said "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."

"Hmm? Are you sure?" Kokichi asked, raising a brow at the fox squirrel.

"Well of course. I want you guys being in my side to the end anyway." Todd shrugged, chuckling a bit.

"E-even me?" Todd nodded as he answered "Yep. Even you Kokichi." Kokichi felt surprised by that, not before that he was invited to join along something like this, besides the Nut Job Heist and since he was a troublemaker, he was hardly invited on joining in any meeting back at Liberty Park.

"O-oh…thank you, I guess." Kokichi shrugged, feeling unsure about that.

"Well we're with ya to the end, Todd." Surly smiled with Buddy smiling over at the fox squirrel as he nodded in agreement. "Now come on. Let's get going."

"Yeah." Todd nodded before they climbed down through the gutters and headed down in front of the crying Alexa. Alexa continued crying until she soon noticed the four rodents looking at him, which confused her at why they were looking at her.

"O-oh, hello there little guys." Alexa softly smiled at them as she asked "What are you four doing here?"

"Well Toddy…good luck." Kokichi pushed him forward a little before muttering "I hope…"

"What?" Todd asked, not hearing what he said.

"Nothing!" Kokichi shouted. Todd shrugged before sighing and walking forward in front of his mother before taking out the fortune and read it aloud.

 _"A journey soon begins, a prize reflected in another's eyes. What you see is what you lack, then selfless love can change you back."_

And on those exact words, Todd began to feel different before a giant 'POOF' of smoke appeared around him, causing him to cough up some smoke before noticing that his paw…wasn't a paw anymore. It was more like a hand now! He looked around himself and realize that he was a human again! And was still wearing the same clothes from before.

"T-Todd?" Alexa asked slowly with a surprised look before gasping and looking over him, checking to see it wasn't an illusion before realizing that it was the real deal, shocking her. "Todd! Y-you're here!" She immediately hugged him a tight hug, which Todd didn't mind as he happily embraced her hug with him.

"Mom!" Todd said with a joyful smile. "I'm so glad that I got to see ya again!"

"Me too!" Alexa smiled before making a stern look and said "And where exactly have you been mister?! Do you know how worried I was when I came out of the jewelry store?! I was searching for you for the past few days!"

"Heh heh….sorry about that mom. But it's a long story." Todd rubbed his head bashfully with a nervous grin. "Speaking of which….how exactly did you do that?" Alexa asked.

"Do what?" Todd questioned, confused by what she meant.

"I meant about that whole puffing out of a cloud thing while you were…" Alexa widened her eyes in shock upon realizing this. "T-Todd! Y-you were a little squirrel! You transformed right back from a squirrel!"

"I knew you would worried too much…" Todd chuckled nervously. Alexa felt pretty shocked about knowing all this. First her son disappeared, then found him standing right in from of him, where the little fox squirrel stood as he read some piece of paper and in just three seconds, it transformed back into her son. She couldn't believe it anymore. Soon, she hold off the rest of her questions upon noticing a scratch on his right arm.

"Ah! What happened to your arm?!" Alexa gasped, her face turning a bit pale upon seeing that scar. Todd looks over his right arm before seeing the wound Raccoon gave to him, which he still has. "Did you get bitten by an animal?!"

"Yeah…something like that." Todd sighed.

"Todd…please be honest with me. What exactly is going on? Why were you a squirrel? Who are those three animals that accompanied you? Just tell me if I've gone insane today." Alexa begged, feeling like her head is about to explode. Before Todd could explain everything, two familiar Chinese woman entered the conversation.

"Please calm down Ms. Lloyd. You don't need to panic." Todd and his mother turned around, only to be surprised to see the two chinese waitresses, Wang and Wong entering the place.

"It's you girls! From the restaurant before!" Todd gasped, remembering them since he entered the place. "What are you two doing here?"

"You should know by now that we're the ones who devised the plan, Todd." Wong replied. "I could've sworn Kokichi told you."

"Then again, maybe not." Wang sighed, face-palming.

"Oh right, he did. But I'm surprised to see you two here." Todd said in surprise.

"Wait, what do you two have to do with this?" Alexa questioned with a confused look. "Are you both the reason…why my son was a squirrel?"

"Indeed, so sorry about that." Wong smiled sheepishly at her. "We wanted to tell you, but we needed your son to go on this journey alone with his new friends."

"Yes, we just wanted to help him, that's all." Wang added, feeling guilty about this.

"So you did devise that plan Kokichi mention a bunch of times." Todd said, feeling surprise about that. "But…why?" Before the sisters could respond, an old voice spoke up as the doors of the restaurant opened, revealing an old man in his late fifties with slightly grey hair, wearing a golden Chinese vest and underneath it was a white button up shirt with the sleeves folded up over to his elbows. He also wore dark shades that almost made him look like a musician of some sorts.

"My my, you young man have a load of questions and you still can't solve it. Can't say I blame ya." The old guy said with a smile.

"Oh! F-Father!" Wong exclaimed, bowing to him.

"Don't do that again, you nearly scared us." Wang added.

"Ah ha ha! Sorry! It's just an old habit of mine to appear out of nowhere at times like these." The old man laughed.

"Oh, excuse me sir." Todd called, gaining the old man's attention. "Who…are you?"

"Ah, forgive me to not introducing to you and your mother, but the names Li Wei, or Mr. W for short." The old man known as Mr. W introduced himself. "So you must be the young lad who was transformed into a fox squirrel by my daughters and brought into your little adventure with Kokichi as your guide, right?"

"Well yeah, but Kokichi didn't seemed to act like my guide most of the times." Todd chuckled nervously while Alexa looks between the two, feeling quite lost from all this.

"I am sorry sir, but I'm afraid I'm sorta lost here. Could you please tell me what's going on?" Alexa asked, wanting some answers.

"Ahh, why yes milady." Mr. W chuckled before saying "See, I'm actually the real owner/manager of the Chinese Yummi Kitchen."

"You? But I thought Ms. Wang was the owner of this place?" Alexa questioned with a confused look.

"Oh that? You see, I have some errands to run back in my home country in China, so I left her in charge of the place while I was away." Mr. W explained before continuing "Now then, you're probably wondering why and how did your son turned into a squirrel, right?" Alexa nodded as she and her son began hearing his explanation, along with the twin sisters.

"Well you see, apparently, my daughters gave him a fortune cookie to ya both. The one you must've had was a normal one while your son held a magic one that has the power to transform anyone into an animal just by the next day."

"By the next day?" Alexa thought for a while until she let out a gasp. "No way! Then the reason why Todd wasn't around outside the jewelry store I went because…!"

"Exactly, your friend felt some dizziness before falling unconscious and waking up as a squirrel. It happens a lot on whoever reads it, but it doesn't affect those who turns back into them." Mr. W smirked.

"You all know pretty much about that magical fortune." Todd pointed out before questioning "So wait, does that mean that you can make magical fortunes?"

"Indeed." Wang nodded with a smile. "Our family has a secret machine that helps produces magical fortunes. Our ancestors created it themselves since ancient times and has been passed down from generation to generation until today."

"That is true. However…" Wong gave her sister a stern look before turning to Todd with a concern look and said "We only use the fortune cookie machine for emergencies. Besides, we haven't used that fortune cookie in a long time since a little incident occurred here 13 years ago."

"An incdient?" Todd asked.

"What kind of accident?" Alexa asked, feeling curious about it now. Mr. W frowned a bit and said "It's…quite personal, really. A friend of ours doesn't wished to answer that as well." "Friend?" Mr. W pointed over to Kokichi, who looked away from their peering looks, even Surly and Buddy's as he felt uncomfortable about that.

"Oh, you mean that white squirrel?" Alexa asked.

"Yep! That's Kokichi, mom!" Todd answered with a smile. "He's been…quite a rascal lately, but he's a good friend. Also, the purple squirrel is Surly and the blue rat is Buddy. They're new friends I made over when I was still a fox squirrel."

"R-right…" Alexa sighed, feeling uncomfortable upon hearing all that coming out of her son. Although, she'll do admit that she's glad to hear that her son finally made some friends at least.

"Anyway…" Mr. W cleared his throat before continuing with his story. "Our family's been known for using these magic fortunes of ours to help out in our everyday lives. However, we use them for special emergencies."

"Really? Special emergencies?" Todd asked curiously.

"Indeed young Todd, special emergencies and you should know what I mean." Mr. W said with a smile. "My daughters were doing their best to help ya in your problems. They gave you that magic fortune and transformed you into a fox squirrel for the adventure you went on. After all, they wanted to make you feel better and hopefully change who were you before, and it looks like it went swimmingly well."

"Huh? You knew?" Todd asked in surprise.

"Well more like my daughters told me myself. I came home from China after you came to Liberty Park for your little quest. I've been noticing that my friend hasn't been coming back here for the past few days, and I knew that the girls were acting weird. So they told me everything on what's going on. Their little plan on helping you find a father figure and possibly change Surly is."

"Huh?" Todd asked, raising a brow.

"Yep. I congratulate you Todd Lloyd for completing the whole journey through Liberty Park, and also for achieving self-discovery on your adventure while finding a father figure and such." Mr. W smiled. "You really have done it. You made Surly changed who he is, from a thief into a loving father figure."

"Wait, so you know Surly and the others back at Liberty Park?" Todd questioned.

"You know the animals back at Liberty Park?" Alexa asked curiously. "Have you all been there before?"

"Oh yes." Wang answered happily with a smile. "We knew about the squirrels from the park. Even Kokichi told us a lot about them personally…while also pranking them."

"Wait what?" Alexa blinked in surprise while Surly and Buddy gave looks at the albino squirrel, who noticed and looked away, whistling innocently.

"Nothing important!" Wang replied quickly. "But anyway, we also knew about Surly the whole time and after we overheard your conversation you and your son's conversation, I had this idea to turn Todd into a squirrel in order to meet and bond with Surly."

"Really? But…why me?" Todd asked. "Not that I'm against that, but why me of all people?" "Because after we heard all that from your conversation with your mother, we realized that you were just like Surly." Wang answered. "You were lost, feeling left out, always isolated from others, and faced too much trouble. But we knew that there was some good in Surly's heart and that someday, we knew that he'll make a great father figure."

"Wow…" Todd said, fully understanding now. "So you guys did this all to make us bond with each other and Kokichi carried out the plan for you." "Yeah, though I was against it at first…" Wong gave her sister a glare before softly smiling and said "But…we couldn't left someone like you to feel alone and keep facing problems by yourself. That's why my sister came up with this idea to transform you into a fox squirrel in the first place in order for you and Surly to see each other at first as friends, but soon as father and son figure." "Father and son?" Alexa asked, feeling surprised to hear that. "A-Are you serious?"

"Indeed. So sorry if we made you all worried Ms. Lloyd." Wang apologized. "This was all my fault. If only I hadn't eavesdropped on your conversation…"

Alexa sighed before softly smiling at the Chinese waitress and said "It's alright Ms. Wang, I understand if you were trying to help my son. I'm just all confused and weirded out by all this."

"It's alright Ms. Lloyd, I know that my daughters wanted to help your son in order to search out his self-discovery and helping Surly out of his troublesome ways." Mr. W chuckled before turning to Todd and said "And I thank you for that, Todd Lloyd. I hope Kokichi wasn't getting you into his troubles."

"Well…" Todd glances over at the albino squirrel with a soft grin. "Just a few, but we worked it all out." Todd then soon realized that he still had the fortune in his hands. "Oh right, I think this belongs to you." "Oh no, you can have it." Mr. W shook his head with a grin, surprising Todd a bit. "For journeying through Liberty Park in a quest of self-discovery, I reward you with this fortune to keep. Think of it as a gift from me to you." "Oh wow! Thank you!" Todd smiled happily.

"Father…are you sure you want him to keep that? Do you remember what happened the last time when…" Wong stopped herself, not wanting to bring THAT up, not even in front of Kokichi.

Mr. W frowned for a moment before smiling at his daughter and replied "It's alright Wong, it's not like last time. Besides, Todd and Surly taught me something. It was all in the past, and it's time to let it go and give others another chance." He then turned to Todd and his mother before taking something out of his pockets. "Here, let me help ya."

He then begins chanting through the fortune and just three seconds, the wound on Todd's arm completely heals, which he noticed and became relieved to see.

"Oh thanks! I was really worried about there for a second there." Todd smiled brightly while Alexa became shocked and surprised to see that happened. All this, though, surprises Alexa and weirds her out as well as confuses her. She was just surprised and shocked to know about all that as well as know that her son was a fox squirrel in Liberty Park the whole entire time.

Todd soon noticed her shocked look and felt worried for her. "M-Mom? Are you alright?" "…S-Sorry! I'm just confused about all this! You turning into a fox squirrel and everything! I-I don't know what to believe anymore! This is all just too crazy!" Alexa exclaimed.

"Mom…" Todd looked at her for a while until he formed a smile and hugged her. "I understand that you're confused with all this, but it's okay. I know you were looking for me for the past few days, but I had a good time. I felt so worried and kept thinking about you through the whole journey of mine. Besides, Surly, Buddy, Kokichi, and the others were keeping me company and I've been having a great time. What I'm trying to say is that…I'm so glad to see you again." Alexa couldn't help but smile at her son before hugging him tightly.

"Me too Todd! I'm just so happy for you to finally make some friends at least!" Alexa smiled while the Chinese family and the rodents watched with smiles on their faces. Soon, they ended their hug as Alexa turned to Mr. W and said "Thank you at least, Mr. W."

"You should be thanking my daughters, and those rodents down there for all the help." Mr. W chuckled.

"Well still, thank you all." Alexa turned to Surly and co. with a soft smile and said "Including you little guys." Surly nodded while Buddy saluted and Kokichi kept his smirk, feeling appreciated by someone.

"Well, I guess it's time to head back Todd. After all, the Fall Break is almost over, you know." Alexa reminded her son, who felt shocked and a bit sadden to hear that.

"O-Oh right…but, can you give me a few minutes with my friends?" Todd pleaded. Alexa thought for a while until she softly smiled at her child and nodded.

"Alright, I see why not." Alexa smiled. Todd became happy to hear that before taking out his fortune that Mr. W allowed him to have and read through the spell, and immediately transformed back into a fox squirrel.

"Whoa! That was quick." Todd said in surprise.

"Oh yeah, there was something that Mr. W and I forgotten to explain about that spell." Todd turned to Kokichi as he, Surly and Buddy walked over as Kokichi explained "You only get dizzy when someone tries the fortune spell for the first time. It won't happen again on the one who uses it too many times, so you should be good."

"Well that's a relief." Todd sighed in relief. "So…I guess this is it, huh?"

"Yeah, seems so Todd." Surly sadly smiled at the fox squirrel with a sad look, feeling depressed that Todd had to go now. "But hey, you can always come back to Liberty Park anytime, ya know? We can always hang whenever you feel like to."

Todd smiled at the purple squirrel and his sidekick before frowning at that idea. "I'm afraid that isn't possible."

"What? Why not?" Surly asked in worried while Buddy felt concern for him.

"Me and my mom live far off of Oakton City and we have no choice but to leave town when Fall Break ends." Todd sighed sadly before looking at Surly and Buddy with a hopeful smile on his face. "But maybe me and my mom will come back during Spring Break? Maybe even summer vacation? We can always hang out and have a great time. Just you, me, Buddy, Kokichi, Andie, Johnny, Jimmy, Jamie, Mole, and Precious. We'll always see each other…Always."

"Yeah…always." Surly nodded before he and Buddy hugged him tightly, smiling over at the fox squirrel while he returned the hug back to them. Kokichi watched over them with a soft grin, feeling proud of himself and probably boasting how well he done on making them father and son. But while…he felt jealous of Todd. Seeing him and Surly get along like that…

 _"Must be nice of him to have that kind of love…if my father would've gave me some of that love, then…would I still be human again?"_ Kokichi thought, feeling a bit sadden, but kept his smirk to make sure no one saw through his feelings.

"But you know…it would be nice if you came for the Winter." Surly suggested.

"But I can't." Todd shook his head as he explained "You know I can't visit you guys over at Winter Break because you guys would be hibernating."

"Oh…right." Surly rubbed his head bashfully, blushing a bit while Buddy nodded, realizing that Todd brought up a good point. They stole all those nuts out of the nut shop to keep themselves from starvation during the winter times. "Well…I guess this is goodbye. I hope we meet again and again, thank you for making me realize the error of my ways….son."

Todd smiled happily before hugging him and Buddy tightly with a tear streaming down his left eye as he said "Thank you for helping me as well…dad."

Surly felt heart-struck upon hearing that, making a warm smile at the fox squirrel as he turned to Buddy and said "Well guess this is it. I hope we meet each other again too…Uncle Buddy."

Buddy let out some tears, feeling heart-warmed of being called that. He smiled and nodded at Todd before he turned to Kokichi with a soft grin.

"Kokichi…well, you may have been insane, weird and…frustrating most of the time, but…"

Willing to show kindness and gratefulness, Todd then hugs Kokichi, much to the albino squirrel's surprise.

"Thank you for everything else, especially for saving us from Raccoon and for helping me discover myself, as well as telling me much about yourself. You're still my friend. You'd make a good addition to my family too along with Surly and Buddy."

"W-well…thanks…" Kokichi was lost for words upon hearing all that. No joke, no gags, no nothing. He didn't say anything at all.

"Oh, and I'm sorry for calling you stupid and everything else that one night. I take all of that back. I guess I was sorta wrong about you…" Todd smiled.

"Ha ha ha! Well of course!" Kokichi smirked. "After all, I am quite smart compared to everyone!" Todd chuckled, seeing Kokichi retaining his wacky self while also thinking why Kokichi doesn't want to transformed back into a human. Is it something personal or…?

"Well anyway, guess this is goodbye. Bye you guys." Todd bid them farewell before taking the fortune cookie out of his hands. "I'll visit you guys while my Fall Break lasts on."

"You got it Todd!" Surly ruffled his hair a bit, causing the fox squirrel to chuckle.

"Well you good luck on that. I'm gonna go grab something to eat. Probably some bagels." Kokichi chuckled with a sly smile. "Well bye Toddy! Surly! Buddy! Bye bye!…Oh wait." Kokichi went over and handed something to Surly, placing it into Surly's paw. "You're going to need it. This fortune is special. Just read it later when you have time. Trust me…it's a humble gift from me to you, Surly."

"Wow…thanks Koki." Surly thanked with a smile while Kokichi chuckled with a smile. "Oh wait, does Mr. W and his daughters know about it?"

"Well no, but I'll tell them…eventually." Kokichi laughed. "Now…Kokichi! Away!" With that, Kokichi immediately dashed off without a sight, causing Todd to laugh while Surly and Buddy shook their heads in amusement.

"That guy never changes." Surly sighed, with Buddy nodded in agreement.

"Well…this is it. Goodbye dad and Uncle Buddy." Todd smiled at them before he took out his old fortune and began chanting the words onto the fortune, magically turning back into a human in a poof.

Alexa blinked in surprise before smiling over at her son and asked "So Todd, did you say farewell to your friends? Because I saw one of them dashing off quicker than a cat."

Todd let out a chuckle and smiled before saying "Yeah mom. I said my goodbyes to them and we promised that we'll meet again next time." Alexa couldn't help but smile at her son before placing her hands on her shoulder and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, causing Todd to feel embarrassed of that.

"M-Mom!" Todd whined before he and his mother started laughing. Surly and Buddy then smiled over at the scene before they took their leave, hoping that one day they'll see Todd once more.

"Well it seems like you two are getting along well." Wang commented with a smile.

"Yeah, we sure have." Todd nodded in agreement before saying "Well, this looks like it's time for us to go. It was nice meeting you all again. Goodbye."

"Farewell young lad, and remember this, never give up on life because if you do, you're giving yourself up to the world." Mr. W stated, which Todd nodded, fully understanding the promise. Before he and his mother began taking their leave, Todd stops himself before turning back to the Chinese family with one question that he couldn't figure out.

"Umm…excuse me, Mr. W?" Todd called.

"Hmm? Yes my friend?" Mr. W asked curiously.

"I was wondering…if you knew something about Kokichi? I was wondering if he…was the last human to use the animal transforming fortune spell?" Todd questioned, causing Mr. W to frown on that.

"Heh, so you finally noticed that huh?" Mr. W chuckled with a bitter smile before answering "Yes, it is true. I'm afraid that our friend, Kokichi, is a human transformed into a squirrel."

"Well I knew that, but I wanted to ask. If I was able to transformed back into a squirrel, why hasn't Koki? Didn't he get transformed into one because of he also wanted to look for self-discovery of himself?"

Mr. W closed his eyes for a moment while his daughters looked at each other in worried as the old man replied "I'm afraid…that he wasn't looking for self-discovery, he was transformed because of the incident we spoke of."

"What?" Todd questioned.

"Since Kokichi isn't here, I suppose I should tell ya about him."

"But father, is it okay to just tell them about Kokichi?" Wong asked in concern.

"No, they have the right to know and I can't hide it anymore." Mr. W assured before he cleared his throat and began telling his story to both Todd and his mother. "It happened 13 years ago, probably before you were even born. There was a boy, who was known for being a trouble-making prankster all across Oakton City. He was always alone, never had any friends and always kept a smile on his face, telling himself that he didn't need any friends and was always cool without them. But deep inside of his heart, he felt loneliness and wished he had one. He always did those pranks, cons, and such in order to gain attention, to make himself famous…in his own way, but always fail at the end with trouble and punishment. He and his father would always fight with each other and he was always walking away from him everyday. Until one day, one fight caused those two to permanently damaged their friendship with the boy to leave him for good and tried to take care of himself for good. He then came right here into our restaurant with money probably stolen from other people and ordered one bowl of noodles and he instantly fell in love with them.

I felt curious with the boy and asked him what was some kid like him doing here alone without his parents, and he told a lie to me about why he was alone, telling me that his parents allowed him to go out alone. He couldn't have fooled me, so I decided to maybe help him out by giving him the same fortune you have in your hands, Todd Lloyd."

Todd looks over his fortune, feeling concern and a bit suspicious because the way the story is being told, it sounds like something bad is about to happen.

"I soon gave him the fortune and he took it before reading it. Since it was the first time he read it, he would soon felt the dizziness and by the next day, he'll turn into a squirrel and hopefully, he would soon learned his lesson. But…the moment he left…a tragedy happened. The boy died in a terrible car accident, unaware of a speeding car about to run him over. His father attended his funeral and only him since nobody cared about the boy due to the trouble he caused to the city. Luckily, me and the girls attend to his funeral as well, comforting the boy's father. He soon fell into despair and blamed himself for his son's death before he took his leave and was left in great depression, staying silent and never talked since then."

Alexa covered her mouth in shock and horror while Todd turned his expression into a pale one, hearing about the boy's death and his father's depression. He soon began to realize something now…he's finally understanding who that boy was now.

"We all felt devastated and wished that we could do something to undo this incident. But one day when we went for a walk at Liberty Park, we encountered some animals running away from something, with their faces covered in black smoke until we saw a white squirrel kit with a mocking laughter, but that smile…I soon remembered the boy's smile and realized that he indeed was transformed into a squirrel. It was a miracle that he was transformed into one the moment of his death. We soon create a fortune that allows the user to speak to animal and was able to communicate with him. We soon gave him the fortune that allowed him to transform back into a squirrel, but once he enchanted those words, it didn't happened. I soon began to realize that it didn't work for those who died after they were transformed into a squirrel. Thanks to the spell he read, he was transformed into a white squirrel, but since he died, his soul must've reincarnated into his squirrel form of his and now is forever stuck in this form for the rest of his life. While we tried many ways in order to revert the problem, we discovered horrible news. The boy's father apparently disappeared for the past three days and no one had seen it. But by the fourth day…His body was found. His father apparently committed suicide out of grief and depression. Though the boy didn't care what happened, I saw through his lies. Deep within his heart, he felt misery, grief, depression, heartbroken, and despair. He felt truly alone and drove those around him away from him."

Todd and Alexa felt shocked and were horrified to hear all this. Todd began to truly feel sorry for Kokichi, wishing that he could help him out of his misery.

 _"So that's why Kokichi couldn't tell us. He didn't felt like too because of his past. So even so, Kokichi itself kept lying to himself and others to escape the old self. Kokichi…was the lie itself."_ Todd thought with a sad look. "I-I see…"

"But I think maybe Kokichi learned a lot from him." Todd and Alexa looked at Mr. W with confusion as he continued "I've never seen Kokichi that happy before while you were wishing your friends goodbye. And also, it was quite nice of him to give Surly that fortune, but I'm gonna have a talk with that guy."

"Huh? So you know?" Todd asked in surprise.

"Yep. It doesn't take a man like me to see through his trickery." Mr. W chuckled. "I want to say that you really have made Kokichi feel…happy for once in his life. I guess you and Surly didn't change each other at all, but him as well."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Todd chuckled with a smile.

"Well…I hope that I can meet him too." Alexa chuckled, feeling interested on hearing Kokichi. "It sounds like he needs a friend or two, but I'm proud of ya Todd."

"Heh heh, thanks mom." Todd smiled brightly at her before turning to Mr. W and his daughters as he said "Well thanks for telling us that. I promise that I'll be nicer to him. He really does need some friends like me to help out."

"Anytime young Todd. You're always welcome back to the Chinese Yummi Kitchen." Mr. W smiled. "And it was quite nice seeing you complete your journey, Todd." Wang added with a bright smile.

"Indeed. Even if I was against and had doubts about it, I never gave hope on you Todd." Wong added.

"I hope we see you and your mother once again."

"Thanks. Bye bye." Todd waved goodbye to them as he and his mother began to take their leave until Todd finally noticed that Surly and Buddy were already gone as he let out a soft grin and looked at the sky with a smile. _"Thank you Surly and Uncle Buddy. Goodbye for now."_ Todd thought as he and his mother headed back to the Oakton Hotel to rest up after today.

"You know, I'm still shocked on hearing all this talk about you transforming into a fox squirrel and all that, but nonetheless, I'm glad to have you back Todd." Alexa smiled in relief.

"Me too mom, me too." Todd nodded in agreement.

"So…what was it like? How was your adventure with that friend of yours? Surly, was it?" Alexa asked with a curious look.

"Well…it's a long story." Todd rubbed his head bashfully with a sheepish smile. "It be best if I told you back at the hotel. Trust me, you're gonna be pretty amazed by everything I've done for the past few days." Alexa nodded in understanding that as they continued their way towards the hotel until Todd was bumped into someone.

"Ow! What the heck?!" Todd muttered before looking up and became shocked to see who it was. It was a chubby kid, probably in 8th grade as he wore a red striped shirt with brown pants with hazel hair and had blue eyes. "Ah! Y-you're…!"

"Todd?!" The boy exclaimed in shock.

"Oh? Do you know him Todd?" Alexa questioned in concern.

"Yeah…remember I told you about the bully that broke my PSVita?" Todd asked, which Alexa nodded as he glared at the chubby boy. "Well…this is the guy who did it. Max Travis."

"What?!" Alexa gasped before looking over at the chubby boy with a hard look. "So he done it, huh? The one who you fought over that gotten you suspended?"

"Let's…not live in the past, mom." Todd chuckled nervously before looking at Max and asked "So what is it Max? What are you doing here?"

"Well…I guess I wasn't really expecting to see you here in the city." Max rubbed his head with a sheepish smile before looking down with a sad and shameful look. "I was planning on seeing you at school, but it looks like I don't have to."

"What? What are you talking about?" Todd asked, feeling confused on what he meant by that.

"Well…" Max rubbed his arm with a sad look before saying "Look Todd…about what happened before you got suspended…I'm sorry for breaking your game."

"What?" Todd asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I-I didn't mean to break it. I soon find out from some kids that you gotten it as a gift from your dad and when I learned what happened to him, I…I felt so terrible. I'm sorry for everything I've done to ya. I guess I went too far, eh?" Max chuckled nervously, rubbing his arm bashfully.

"Y-you really mean it?" Todd asked incredulous.

"Yeah…and to prove it…" Max took something out of his pockets, showing him a broken Wii U gamepad, which took Todd and his mother by surprise. "I guess Karma had really hit me hard, eh?"

"Sure has." Todd commented with a light chuckle.

"Oh, you poor dear." Alexa said, feeling terrible of him. "What happened to your game?"

"Well after school came for a close for the weekend, I headed back home and took my Wii U Gamepad with me to play around it until I accidentally tripped over a small rock and dropped it into the middle of the road, and I tried to get it back, but a car drove right over it apparently." Max sighed in sadness.

Todd couldn't help but feel sorry for the bully, seeing that he gotten his own gaming console destroyed as well. Todd placed a comforting hand on the bully's shoulder with a soft smile and said "Well…I guess we're even, huh?"

"Yeah, you're right about that." Max chuckled with a soft smile.

"You know, I can help pay for it as a tribute of you forgiving my boy from all the troubles you caused." Alexa offered until Max shook his head and replied "Nah, it's alright. My family are working on getting it fixed."

"Oh, I see." Alexa nodded, understanding about that.

"Well…I'm glad to hear that at least." Todd chuckled with a grin. "And thanks for the apology. I forgive you."

"Oh, thanks Todd." Max smiled. "You can hang out at my home next week if ya want."

"I see why not. Once you get your Wii U Gamepad working, I hope we can play some games together…as friends." Todd nodded, while Max smiled over at Todd. Alexa couldn't help but smile happily at her boy, seeing that things for her son are finally getting better. "Well anyway, it's best if we took our leave. See ya Max."

"I'll see ya later too, Todd. You too Ms. Lloyd." Max bid farewell to them as they began to take their leave by taking their separate paths as Todd and his mother headed back to their hotel room.

"I'm really proud of you Todd." Alexa smiled at her boy as she continued "I guess that little adventure of yours was really worth something, huh?"

"You betcha mom! It was really worth something." Todd winked as they continued their way, now with things back to normal. But unbeknownst to them, a girl was watching from behind the shadows. She looked like she was the same age as Todd as she smiled softly at him with a light chuckle before walking off, promising to meet with Todd with a big surprise.

* * *

 ** _The Next Day_**

It was another beautiful day here in Oakton City, and things were looking better than ever. At the hotel room, Todd and Alexa were seen eating breakfast with Todd telling her the story on his adventures at Liberty Park. Alexa felt shocked a couple of times on hearing the dangers he faced through, but was happy to hear that her son was able to change the purple squirrel's heart while becoming good friends with him and the other animals. Ever since the adventures on Liberty Park, Todd changed. He was feeling happy and positive than who he was before. If it wasn't for reading that fortune cookie, then maybe he wouldn't have met Surly, Buddy, Kokichi and friends.

Just then, there was some knocking at the window as the two turned over to it as they got up from the dining table and opened the curtains and window, revealing two familiar rodents.

"Surly? Buddy!" Todd exclaimed in joy, happy to see them. "You're back!"

"Told ya we'll meet again." Surly smiled while it caught the humans' surprised by that.

"S-Surly?! D-did you just…speak?!" Todd exclaimed in shock. "But how? I'm not even a squirrel!"

"Oh, you can thank Kokichi for that." Surly smirked. "Remember that fortune he gave to me yesterday? Well apparently, I discovered that it had the power to allow the user to speak and understand animals, as well as humans. I gotta hand it to him. He sure knows how to get good gifts."

"Wow! So that's what it was? Awesome!" Todd smiled in joy. "I gotta thank him later."

"Well that was quite amazing." Alexa commented before realizing something. "Wait, how did you knew about it? The fortunes themselves speaks in riddles."

"Well…" Surly rubbed his head with a sheepish grin while Buddy tried his best to hold back his laughter. "Let's just say that we may or may not scared a few humans who heard us talking."

"Oh Surly!" Todd laughed, along with his mother. Surly and Buddy couldn't help but laugh alongside them as well. "So what's up?"

"Well we came over and found out where you and your mother were staying. So looks like you're still here, huh?" Surly asked curiously.

"Yeah, today's our last day anyway." Todd replied.

"That's good to hear. Just in time to ask ya something." Todd became confused, wondering what Surly was about to ask as he continued "So anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to head out with me and Buddy on a little heist. Remember, we agreed to help out with the park on food crisis now that Raccoon is gone for good."

"Really?" Todd asked with a grin.

"Yep! So are you in? Because this adventure may not be exciting as our last, but hey, at least it's worth something to pass the time, eh?" Surly chuckled.

"Do you guys even have to ask? Sure can!" Todd nodded before turning to his mother and asked "Say mom, you wouldn't mind if I-"

"You can go Todd." Alexa nodded, catching Todd by surprise. She put her hands on Todd's shoulders with a smile and said "After all, I can't stop ya. After everything you've been through, I think you're becoming a great man. Just like your father."

Todd looked at his mother for a moment before nodding with a smile and said "Thank you mom."

"Anytime Todd, anytime." Alexa nodded. Todd soon took out his fortune and chanted the spell, reverting back into his fox squirrel form. He climbed up the window as he met up with Surly and Buddy and said "Alright! I'm ready to rock and roll Surly!"

"Thanks kiddo." Surly smiled, ruffling the fox squirrel's hair before saying "But say, can you and Buddy wait outside with me?"

"Sure thing dad." Todd nodded before turning to Buddy and said "Come on Uncle Buddy! Let's go!"

Buddy nodded before he and Todd began to take their leave as Alexa called "Remember Todd, be careful and stay safe, okay?"

"Right back at ya, mom!" Todd smiled with a wink. "We'll be back mom, bye!"

With that, Todd and Buddy exited out of the building, leaving Surly and Alexa alone in the room.

"You know, Todd told me a lot about you Surly. I still can't believe that he would team up with a thief, but I am glad that you took good care of my boy." Alexa smiled, causing Surly to smile sheepishly at her and said "Well I don't mean to brag, but I am a great guardian to the kid. He was quite a good friend to have…No, a great son to have."

"Heh heh, well it seems like he wasn't kidding on saying that he sees you as a father figure." Alexa chuckled. "Well I wish you good luck on watching over my boy. You're quite a smart squirrel despite how cute you are."

"C-cute?!" Surly blushed at that before rubbing his cheek in embarrassment. "Pfft! Like I'm cute! I prefer to be cool! I am the coolest squirrel of all Liberty Park after all."

Alexa couldn't help but laugh at that before saying "You know, that cockiness of yours somewhat reminds me of Ben."

"Huh? Really?" Surly asked in surprise.

"Yeah. He would always comments something cocky about being a good parent and a role model to Todd. We all were so close until…well you know."

"Yeah, I know." Surly nodded in understanding. "Well anyway, I gotta go. Todd and Buddy are waiting for me and don't worry, I promise within my heart that I'll keep Todd safe and watch over him." Surly winked at Alexa before she happily watches him leave to catch up with Buddy and Todd.

"I know you will Surly because…your Todd's hero." Alexa smiled. "I'm so happy for you, Todd. I'm so glad to see you smiling once more. Though, I'm glad Surly is a good kind of thief too since Todd said that he's gonna do good deeds to help out those poor little animals at the park, after all."

She looks at the sky with a bright smile and said "Oh Ben, I hope you're watching us over because our son made you proud."

She then closes the window while watching Surly, Buddy, and Todd leaving the hotel together as they cheerfully got ready for their adventure.

"Alright you two, come on! We're heading back to the nut shop and steal some more nuts there. After all, we got the perfect ticket on entering there." Surly smiled as he lead the way with the other two rodents following him. Todd chuckled at the purple squirrel while Buddy crossed his arms with a bright smile at his friend. Todd then turned to his 'Uncle Buddy' with a smile.

"Ya know Buddy, I'm really glad I have you two and everyone else from the park in my life, especially Surly." Todd stated with a bright smile. "He is my kind of guy. He's someone I can look up to. He's my hero. He…is my father figure, Surly Squirrel."

 **THE END!**

* * *

 **Hold up!**

 **(Kokichi appears with a bright and sly grin on his face!)**

 **Kokichi: This story isn't over yet! There's a secret ending to show you all! Everyone knows that you can't end a story/movie without a super finale secret ending! So here it is...in the next and final chapter!**


	13. Secret Ending

**This ending is very special to show off a teasing clip for the upcoming sequel. That's right, me and Dusk19 are planning a sequel, but it'll take time. Anyway, enjoy.**

"Ah ha ha! That was a great heist, eh Todd?"

"You betcha dad, it was pretty great. It was also nice for Precious to allow us in. I guess she really has taken a liking towards us now, huh?"  
Todd, Surly, and Buddy were seen walking through through the rooftop from each building with each carrying bags of nuts behind their backs. They just got back from a little heist they held back at the Maury's Nut Shop, now being called 'Nibblers Nut Shop' now that Lana has taken business there. Now they were heading back to Liberty Park to deliver these nuts back to Andie and the others to enjoy.

"Yeah…with a few dog slobbers from her." Surly shivered a bit, still can't get the slobber off of his fur, along with Todd and Buddy. They soon began to laugh again before climbing down the gutter and walking through the entrance of the park. "But overall, I say we did a good job, sport."

"You said it, dad!" Todd nodded with a smile while Buddy gave out a thumbs-up to him.

"So you must be Todd Lloyd I heard so much." The three rodents stopped on their tracks before turning around to encounter another squirrel, but the strangest thing is that she as well is a fox squirrel. She had greyish-white fur on her upper body, and on the underside of her body, was pale grey. What strangest is that she's wearing a jacket, gloves, eyeshadow, lipstick, and earring except they're a lot smaller to her average size. She also has a large tuft long dark chocolate brown hair with two dark blue streaks on her head that are like bangs.

"Umm…yeah?" Todd raised a brow at her, wondering who she was and how she knew her. _"Strange, I haven't encountered someone like her before during the last time I came to the park, so who is she? And…what's up with the makeup?"_

Surly and Buddy became shocked and surprised to see who it was.

"N-no way! Leah?!" Surly exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?!"

"Ha ha! Duh! I come here whenever I have free time, Surly, remember?" The squirrel known as Leah reminded him.

"Oh, right." Surly rubbed his head bashfully, completely forgetting about that.

"Wait…you know her Surly?" Todd asked curiously.

"Oh right, apparently, we met last year and I wasn't interested on getting to know her, but I have been keeping track with her." Surly explained. "But I'm surprised to see you here again."

"Well when I heard the news from Andie, I heard that you completely changed and I was really glad to hear. I was thinking you would turn out to be a troublemaker like Kokichi…" Leah said before grumbling "At least…not insane as him." "Oh, so you know Andie and Koki?" Todd questioned.

"Yep I do Todd! It's nice to meet you at last. When I saw you yesterday when you and your mother headed back to the Oakton Hotel, I was so anxious to meet you." Leah giggled while Todd became surprised to hear that she knew that. Unless…

"So wait, you saw me?!" Todd asked in shock.

"Yep! I gotta admit, I thought I was the only one who could transform into a squirrel. Guess Koki was just lying to me as always." Leah sighed, feeling irritated that Kokichi would lie to her like that. "Even if he gave me that fortune when I visited the Chinese Yummi Kitchen last year, he's so annoying that I couldn't stand his randomness or his pranks."

"Wait…fortune?" Surly questioned. Todd felt confused as well before gasping in realization. "Wait a minute! Do you mean…" Todd took out his fortune out of his fur coat, showing it to Leah. "This fortune?!"

"Well yeah, and I got one too." Leah took something out of her fur coat, revealing that she had the same fortune as Todd's. Todd looked at Leah with a shocked look, along with Surly and Buddy.

"Wait a minute…does that mean?!" Surly and Buddy jaw-dropped upon realizing something. "I never knew about you that much, but after hearing this, please tell me that I'm wrong!"

"Same here! There's no way it's possible, right?!" Todd added, feeling nausea about this as he put his paws on his head with a dizzy look. "This is all just confusing…"

"It's not confusing! It's the truth!" Leah chuckled with a smile. "I'm just like you Todd!"

"So wait…does that mean that…!" Leah nodded as she answered "Yep! That's right Todd! I'm too a human as well!" Todd, Surly, and Buddy looked at her for five seconds before jaw-dropping and yelling "WHAAAAAAAT?!"

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

"Sounds to me that Toddy, Surly, and Buddy found out the truth, huh Mr. W?"

Kokichi and Mr. W were seen sitting down on the ledge on the rooftop of the Chinese Yummi Kitchen.

"Yep, seems so. Though, I am surprised that you manage to give that girl the same fortune as Todd last year. Care to explain Kokichi?" Mr. W questioned with an amused smirk.

"Oh that? I just happened to see how bummed out she was when I visited your restaurant and decided to cheer her up like I did with Toddy." Kokichi explained with a cocky smirk on his face. "Do you think that I should've told Toddy and friends that there was another human turned squirrel as well or not?"

"Well after hearing that loud screaming, I say that they know the truth by now." Mr. W chuckled.

"Yep. Well I guess we'll find out much about that girl until the next sequel." Kokichi shrugged in a nonchalant expression before forming a smirk and a light chuckle. "Hopefully, Toddy doesn't get too angry upon finding out that I lied to him."

"You know…it's pretty strange that you would give that girl the fortune that allows her to transform into an animal like Todd. What was your motive for that?" Mr. W asked curiously.

"Like I said, I was just trying to help her out. Besides, what a coinky-dink that she and Todd have similar issues of overcoming their pasts from lost relatives, eh?" Kokichi thought aloud. "I mean, really? It's like most protagonists always loses someone close to them, whether a close lover or family member that were close to. I mean, is there an unbreakable rule that says that the protagonist has to lose someone they care about? I swear, we're pulling a Superman/Batman thing here."

"And once again, you lost me there pal." Mr. W sighed and shook his head in amusement before looking at the sky with a soft grin. "But you know, it's quite a wonderful world we live in today, eh?" However, Kokichi didn't respond as he looks down at the city with a sad look on his face, which Mr. W noticed.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Mr. W questioned. "What? Are you thinking about Todd and Surly? Well I guess it's understandable why since what happened to ya…." Mr. W patted Kokichi gently on the back and said "Hey, sorry for what happened to your father. I'm sure that he regrets on having that fight with ya. But he really cared about you after mourning for you. He…even say some things that he takes back from you from your funeral." Kokichi remained silent before letting out a smirk and said "Well, I guess so. I'm not bothered by it. I'm just glad that he's now acknowledging and understanding me since then. Besides, like I said, I'm done with my old life and enjoying the new life I have."

Mr. W couldn't help but grin at the albino squirrel, seeing right through his lies that he's admiring his father after all these years.

"Well…looks like you got some explaining to do to young Todd and friends." Mr. W smirked at his friend, who only chuckled as he put his paws behind his head and said "Don't worry, I'll tell them….later." With that, Kokichi took his leave while Mr. W watched him jump onto a telephone pole wire before running off on all fours with the old man letting out a chuckle before rubbing his head bashfully with a warm smile.

"I guess some things never change for that guy." Mr. W commented before getting off the ledge and heading back inside of his restaurant.

* * *

Todd Lloyd is soon seen at the sidewalk near Liberty Park, taking off his headphones and dropping them down the ground, looking at the sky with a grin on his face while Leah was seen looking at the sky in the other way with smiles on their faces, seeing the beautiful world right here in Oakton City.

 ** _A New Adventure Begins in…My Father Figure, Surly Squirrel: For The Park!_**

* * *

 _ **This OC actually belongs to MarieCarrasco143 from Quotev. She's a new friend me and Dusk made, so give her an applause! Also, I want to thank Dusk19 for writing the summaries for me to write and published here, so give him credit as well. Until then, bye-onara!**_


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